BENGALURU: It is the decider of the T20 series between India and England here on Wednesday. The M Chinnaswamy Stadium, after upgraded drainage system and a brand new lush outfield, promises a run fest as usual. With India captain Virat Kohli being a crowd favourite, they will all be expecting a splendid show from him.
But on Tuesday, there was continued talk that it may not be just cricketing prowess that will decide the outcome. DRS in T20s was being discussed. England were not happy with C Shamshuddin ruling Joe Root LBW and skipper Eoin Morgan made that amply clear after the Nagpur game. He even called for DRS in T20s.
“We are very disappointed, more so because of the position we were in. But it happens sometimes. They countered it with some good death bowling but there were decisions throughout the game that went against us,” said Root on Tuesday.
However, Root said he had nothing against the umpire. “I have no problem with him (Shamshuddin) umpiring any of our future games. As a player, you’re going to make mistakes and as an umpire you’re going to do exactly the same. It’s not right to single him out as a person at fault. There were things in the game that we could have done better. We could have chased tighter so we didn’t have so much to do at the back end,” said Root.
“It would be wrong to single him out and have a personal go at him. But if in a major tournament a decision goes against us, we are going to feel disappointed. I’m just trying to think of the best solution and I don’t want it to overshadow the way India bowled at the end. Bumrah deserves credit for holding his nerve at the end.”
“Umpires are under as much scrutiny as we are. If you make consistent mistakes, you might lose international status. That’s not for us to worry about as players. It would be wrong to make him feel uncomfortable. He should be able to do his job. He’ll be under enough external pressure anyway,” Root said.
Had there been DRS, this controversy could have been avoided. “It’s important to get the right decisions from umpires. It would be quite nice to see maybe even one review for either side. But we are where are with it at the moment,” he felt. Asked if the England would raise the DRS issue at the ICC meeting this week, Root said, “I’d like to think it will get raised anyway. But I’m not an official and don’t know what’s best for the game.”