No DRS for England-India series

Indians have never been fans of the Decision Review System (DRS) and hence it is no surprise that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will have it their way during the upcoming series between England and India.

While DRS is mandatory for all International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments, using the technology for a bilateral series needs the nod of both boards and the BCCI have refused to have it for the five-Test and five-ODI series, which starts with the opening Test from July 9th in Nottingham.

During India's previous tour of England in 2011, a watered-down DRS was in place. The ball-tracking technology, which is used for leg-before decisions, was not in use while India had agreed to the use of Hot-Spot and stump microphones for determining edges and bat-pad decisions.

Even with the limited technology in that series, some of the decisions went against the Indians, which further strengthened BCCI's take on DRS - that it should not be used unless it is 100% correct.

This will be the first series between two of cricket's 'big three nations', following their effective takeover of the ICC.

Last week, former India cricketer Ravi Shastri, who is a member of the ICC's cricket committee, mentioned that India were not averse to technology but they only wanted it to be consistent. "It's just a myth that the BCCI and India are opposed to DRS. They want technology to be consistent."

"I want it taken away from the players. Let the third umpire do it -- give him the technology that works," added Shastri.

England seamer Stuart Broad, whose Test hat-trick against India at Trent Bridge in 2011 might not have come to pass if DRS as presently constituted had been in operation then, was intrigued as to how its absence would affect the upcoming series.

"It will add a little bit of pressure to the umpires. They'll have to really take their time to get decisions right," Broad said.