It’s official, referral system valid from Ahmedabad Test

Mumbai: India’s master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar may have reservations over referral system, officially known as Umpire Decision Review System, but the first Test match between India and Sri Lanka, commencing in Ahmedabad on November 16, will see its “official” implementation.

Since it was first introduced in the 2008 India-Sri Lanka Test series on a trial basis, the referral system has got mixed reviews from the cricketing world.

The most recent comment regarding the system came from none other than the Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, who expressed his reservations over the system.

After a prolonged and comprehensive discussion over the system by the ICC umpires in last month’s Dubai seminar, the ICC finally decided to introduce it from October 1, 2009.

Under the referral system, only the batsman involved in a dismissal may request a review of an “out” decision and only the captain (or acting captain) of the fielding team may request a review of a “not out” decision, with the exception of a “timed out” dismissal (a method of dismissal in the game when an incoming batsman is not ready to play within three minutes of the previous batsman being out.)