Former Indian cricketer and a legend of the game, Sachin Tendulkar, on Saturday called for a change in a certain rule as part of the Decision Review System (DRS). He reckons that no matter what percentage of the ball strikes the wickets during an lbw call, the signal should be out, contrary to the existing rule.
According to the ICC rule as described under in clause 3.4, named 'Review of LBW Decisions', under the 'Men's Test Playing Conditions 2017', "The Wicket Zone is defined as a two-dimensional area whose boundaries are the outside of the outer stumps, the base of the stumps and the bottom of the bails."
It further adds that: "The ball-tracking technology shall report whether the ball would have hit the wicket with reference to the following three categories: Hitting - The ball was hitting the wicket, and the centre of the ball was inside the Wicket Zone; Umpire’s Call - The ball was hitting."
Sachin feels that if the ball is hitting the stumps during the ball-tracking segment of DRS checking, it should be signalled out.
"What % of the ball hits the stumps doesn’t matter, if DRS shows us that the ball is hitting the stumps, it should be given out, regardless of the on-field call. That's the motive of using technology in Cricket. As we know technology isn’t 100% right but neither are humans," he tweeted.
Sachin said this during a discussion with Windies legend Brian Lara on his app, '100 MB', while discussing the ongoing first Test between England and West Indies which is being played at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. Lara agreed with Sachin's point.
Sachin, while explaining his point, even referred to the rule in tennis, where the Hawk Eye is used to check whether the ball has landed on the line or not. In tennis, there are no percentages considered when determining whether the ball is in or out. Even if a fraction of the ball is on the line, the decision shown is 'IN'.
Talking about the Test match, England have taken a comfortable lead on day 4 following half-centuries from Dominic Sibley and Zak Crawley. Windies bowlers have been equally disciplined, but the uneven nature of the pitch had denied crucial wickets.
