India have finally agreed to use cricket's decision review system [DRS] during England's five Test tour of the country, which begins next month.
The Indian cricket authorities had previously refused to sanction the technology, which allows both fielding and batting teams to challenge the umpire's on-field decision, but have relented after receiving assurances about its accuracy
"The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had been staunch opponents of DRS ever since it was rolled out in 2008," says The Times, but they did agree to use aspects of it during a tour of England in 2011.
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The system is made up of three parts: Hawk-Eye ball tracking technology that can determine if the delivery would have hit the stumps in LBW referrals; Hot Spot, an infra-red camera system that decides if the ball has touched the bat or pad; and Snickometer, which uses directional microphones to pick up faint sounds when the ball touches the bat or pads.
"Hawk-Eye has long been the sticking point for India, whose recalcitrant stance was thought to stem from opposition to the ball-tracking technology from several senior players, including Sachin Tendulkar," explains the Times.
However they have now changed their stance after Hawk-Eye agreed to use "ultra-motion cameras" to reduce the margin for error, says Cricinfo.
Bitter experience and a change of personnel within the India set-up may also have contributed, adds the Times.
"Several high-profile umpiring errors during India's recent home series against New Zealand appear to have helped changed minds at the BCCI... It is also relevant that Virat Kohli, India's new batting superstar following the retirement of Tendulkar, has publicly stated his openness to adopting DRS."
The system has certainly proved invaluable to England on their tour of Bangladesh. A world record ten reviews were used in England's first innings in the first Test, with batsman Moeen Ali having his dismissal overturned three times thanks to DRS and surviving a total of five referrals.
