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ICC calls upon BCCI to adopt UDRS
International Cricket Council chief executive Haroon Lorgat on Wednesday stressed that the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) has been perfected and called upon the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to adopt the system.
"The UDRS system, as you know, has been trailed for sometime and we believe we have now got it perfected. I am confident that in due course the BCCI will join us on a visit to Australia to explain the technical application of the system and will see the merits of it.
"At the moment they still have doubts about the reliability of the system which is something we will try and convince them. The majority of players across the world are convinced by application of the system and I am sure in due course the BCCI and its players will feel the same," said Lorgat, at a promotional event in Mumbai to mark the ICC's long-term sponsorship agreement with MoneyGram International, the global leader in money transfer.
The South African also added that the governing body cannot force the BCCI to take up the system.
"Like all of our engagements with any member board we seek to try and convince rather than instruct any board."
'We don't have sufficient hotspot cameras'
Lorgat believes that it is too early to make the system mandatory due to problems like shortage of equipment.
"It is perhaps a bit more complex than you might understand. There was a shortage of technical equipment, there was a trial period which we went through and there was an experience that the players needed to gain.
"There were a lot of issues at stake before we could make the system mandatory. We are still in that period where we believe the right option is to let the host board decide whether they have got the equipment available and everything in place to apply the system. Even for the World Cup we don't have sufficient hotspot cameras to use as much as we want to."
UDRS could be mandatory in future
That is why, he reasoned, that the decision lies with the host board to decide on the use of the UDRS in bilateral series. But Lorgat believes that in the near future, with increase in supply of equipment needed for the UDRS, it could be mandatory for every playing country.
"These are all factors which made us believe that the best way in the current scenario is to allow the host member board in a bilateral series to decide whether to use it or not. But there will come a time when there will be sufficient equipment available, there will be competing suppliers for that equipment and at that stage we can consider making it mandatory," he said.
Influence of player agents worries ICC
Lorgat refused to discuss the current controversy surrounding Indian cricketer Suresh Raina, who was seen in the company of a woman, allegedly linked to an associate of an illegal bookmaker, during the team's tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year.
"There are two fronts which we do not speak and that is to protect the confidentiality of the player or the commercial partner. In terms of any such reporting around players or ACSU we do not discuss in a public forum and that is to protect the confidentiality of the players," he said.
The ICC chief executive revealed that the governing body is also worried about the influence of player agents after the spot-fixing controversy involving Pakistani players during their tour to England earlier this year.
"In terms of player agent there is discussion going to find methods to accredit player agents to avoid any chance of what conspired recently in England. It is a matter for domestic boards, but I can tell you that that all of us in respect to corruption we approach a zero tolerance policy. I have no doubt that as far as that is concerned it will be dealt with immediately," Lorgat said.
ICC to introduce Test league system from 2012
The ICC is also planning to spice up Test cricket by introducing a league system from 2012.
"We have now agreed to work on a Test league system that would see the top four teams in the league moving into the semi-finals and the final. That is the Test league structure that we will introduce in 2012.
"We have not discussed or considered the two-tier system yet because along side the existing system that we have got in place there is already a World Cricket League that affords all associate and affiliate members to play multi-day cricket."