So what prompted the BCCI to widen the scope of the DRS? ESPNcricinfo has learned that the board wanted to give teams the chance to rectify an umpiring error that could prove costly in closely-contested tournaments like the IPL. With considerable pressure from players and experts to bring wides and no-balls for height under the scope of DRS, the BCCI consulted its match officials after last year’s IPL.
In ODIs and T20Is, a team that concedes a no-ball also has to bowl a free-hit the next delivery, off which a batter cannot be dismissed in any manner apart from a run-out. The BCCI’s experts agreed that it was prudent to reduce the chance of a match result being impacted by an umpiring error.
The BCCI, however, did not want to give teams more reviews per innings, as some experts like Daniel Vettori had suggested last IPL, to review the on-field umpire’s decisions on wides and high no-balls. The board does not want to nullify the human element in umpiring and is also mindful of the time the extra reviews will add to the length of the game.
The modified DRS is already in use during the WPL as a trial phase before the IPL that starts on March 31. The BCCI is aware that the onus is on the TV umpire to make the right call, and the board is ready to allow match officials, most of whom are Indian, leeway and understands that errors will happen.