Kumble-led ICC committee proposes Test championship, DRS in T20Is
The ICC Cricket Committee, led by former spinner and current India team coach Anil Kumble, has made a number of recommendations to provide context to international cricket during the panel’s meeting in London on May 23-24.
The recommendations primarily suggested greater context to Test cricket, the use of DRS in Twenty20 Internationals and for the game to be involved in the Olympics.
If the changes are approved, new ICC playing conditions will come into effect from October 1, an ICC statement said on Thursday.
The cricket committee expressed unanimous support for the implementation of a Test championship. This was necessary to provide context that is seen as vital to sustaining Test cricket.
Currently, bilateral Test series and international tours are governed by the FTP (Future Tours Programme) where each team plays the other away and home over 10 years. In 2013, there was a proposal to replace the ICC Champions Trophy with the World Test Championship in 2017, but it was postponed and scrapped due to the reservations of broadcasters.
The cricket committee recommendation will go before the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee.
DRS CHANGES
The other major change recommended by the committee was the use of Decision Review System (DRS) in all Twenty20 Internationals. The other proposed changes to the DRS came in Tests, primarily related to the usage and decision-making.
The committee decided that teams will not lose a review if referral for an LBW dismissal comes back as ‘Umpire’s call’. However, if the proposal is approved, top-up of reviews, which comes after 80 overs would be removed.
The committee has suggested making the on-field umpires powerful by giving them the right to send off players in case of extreme player misconduct.
The committee also proposed restriction on the bat dimensions, especially on the thickness of edges and depth of the willow.