No DRS threatens to undermine CPL18
Mon, Aug 27, '18
In this, the most unpredictable of the six seasons of the Hero Caribbean Premier League so far, organizers will be rueing the option to forgo the Decision Review System (DRS) given several bemusing calls by umpires thus far in the tournament. Arguably, the most blatant indiscretion came as the Tallawahs hosted the Knight Riders in Florida. In this instance, Adam Zampa having apparently trapped Darren Bravo plumb in front had his appeal dismissed by standing umpire Joel Wilson.
The level of officiating in CPL18 has been substandard, leading to several instances in which viewers and players alike would have been wishing for DRS. Which begs the question as to why the Decision Review System is not being employed in CPL18. Yes, the umpires “are only humans”; obviously “they only get one look at it” and thankfully “we have replays”. But then, what excuse does CPL organizers have for whisking available technology aside, on this, one of the biggest T20 stages and allowing human error to affect the outcomes of games to such an extent. Were these not the reasons for this technology-development, to eliminate the level of human errors?
The system would have been good even for the perception of the CPL, which is also without a speed radar this season. Although each team would only be allotted one review per innings; the fact that a review cannot be lost if the decision remains umpire’s call means that if a team doesn’t have any reviews at any point of an innings it would be on the team. Even if the umpire made an incorrect decision, the perception of this would be a team wasting their review previously and not necessarily a poor decision by the umpire. Entering into the latter stages of the tournament, we hope for the quality and value of the Hero Caribbean Premier League, that the standard of officiating improves.
