Indian cricket captain Anil Kumble and his Sri Lankan opposite number Mahela Jayawardene Tuesday welcomed an experimental rule allowing players to seek a second opinion on umpiring decisions. The rule, which will trial during the three-Test series starting here on Wednesday, allows a batsman or fielding captain to request a review of any decision by referring it to the third official monitoring television replays.
Each team will be allowed three unsuccessful review requests per innings and if one is successful they will get an additional appeal. So far, only the on-field umpires determine if a decision needs to be passed on to TV officials.
"It will obviously be helpful for the umpires and the teams. I can't really say much till it is experimented because it's something new. We're only looking at the positive things," said Kumble.
"It's meant for the errors that sometimes happen. We can look to negate that and not question the umpire's decision at every possibility. These kinds of referrals may matter and change the course of the game as well. "I don't think we are saying that umpires are redundant. They are an integral part of the system. It's sometimes very difficult for the umpires in the heat of the moment and this is not taking something away from them."
The International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to trial the review in March, but it was delayed after England and South Africa failed to reach an agreement on it for their ongoing series.
A player can make a request for a review by making a "T" sign with his hands and the television umpire's decision is final. The rule will apply for all dismissals except "Timed Out" when an incoming batsman is out if he takes too long to arrive at the crease after the fall of the previous wicket. "It is a very good system. What we are trying to eradicate is obvious mistakes that happen on the field," said Jayawardene.
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