Video reviews would give umpires Twenty20 vision, says Root
ENGLAND batsman Joe Root has called for the International Cricket Council to make the Digital Replay System reviews available in Twenty20 internationals.
Root was wrongly given out lbw in the final over of India’s series-levelling win on Sunday, with umpire Chettithody Shamshuddin raising his finger despite a heavy inside edge.
Shamshuddin had earlier raised eyebrows by reprieving India captain Virat Kohli when a Chris Jordan delivery rapped the pads in front of middle stump. On both occasions England would have happily referred the decision to the TV umpire – and been successful – but there is currently no provision for DRS in the shortest form of the game.
Captains are allowed two unsuccessful reviews every 80 overs in Test matches and one per innings in one-day internationals, but the ICC has resisted any temptation to offer the option in T20s. There have been concerns that reviews would compromise the brevity of a format that is pitched as an allaction alternative to its lengthier cousins. But Root feels that notion is already outdated.
“Is it time now for some sort of DRS in T20 cricket?” he mused on the eve of the series decider in Bangalore.
“When the margins are so small and the smallest thing can turn a game of T20 cricket I do feel every opportunity to get the right decision should be taken. It’s as simple as that.
“I know you want to keep the speed of the game but it is so important for us to get things right – with bat or ball – it’s just as important to get the right decisions from the umpires as well. It would be quite nice to see maybe even one review for either side.”
Root’s words are timely given the ICC board are set to have their quarterly meeting in Dubai at the weekend, just the kind of forum where his suggestion might be acted upon.
Whether or not the England andWales Cricket Board’s representative, president Giles Clarke, will raise the topic remains to be seen, but Root is hopeful.
“I’d like to think it will get raised anyway by a few different members,” he said. “I can’t speak on behalf of the rest of world cricket. It’s just something I believe in.”