Sri Lanka disappointed no review system for India

Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said Monday he was disappointed that the umpire review system would not be used for the upcoming three-Test series with India.

 

“As a player and a team, we are very much for the umpire decision review system,” skipper Kumar Sangakkara told reporters ahead of the Indian series starting Sunday at Galle in southern Sri Lanka.

 

Sangakkara said the International Cricket Council (ICC) should seriously consider using the review system on a permanent basis to avoid human error at crucial stages of the game.

 

Under the ICC rules, the host country needs the consent of the visiting team to use the review system, but Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said Indiahad not agreed to this.

 

“At high levels of umpiring you get things right about 92 percent of the time. But the eight percent is also now important at the high level the game is played these days,” Sangakkara said.

 

“We are very much in favour of it. When we checked with India, they were not happy to have it,” Ranatunga said.

 

The review system, which has courted controversy since its implementation, was first used in the 2008 series between the same teams.

 

During the Indian tour, Sri Lankamade 11 successful reviews in the 2-1 series win, as opposed to India’s one.

 

On their return tour to Indialast year, Sangakkara lamented the absence of the review technology.

 

He said it cost his side “over 500 runs and a lot of wickets” during the 2-0 defeat. To add to his frustration, the review system was used in two series being played at the same time.

 

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, however, said it was premature to push for the review system as a permanent fixture.

 

“It’s still not a 100 percent correct system,” said Dhoni. “Let’s wait and see until the ICC comes up with a foolproof plan.”

 

The three-Test series starts in Galle on July 18, before moving to Colombofor the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club on July 26 and the P. Sara Stadium on August 3.

 

Indiahave run into fitness issues, with Zaheer Khan and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth injured and Harbhajan Singh down with fever ahead of the first Test.

 

Dhoni said Harbhajan should be ready in time for the first Tests, but the situation gave an opportunity to younger players to step up and perform.

 

“It’ll be a big exposure to Abhimanyu Mithun and players like Ishant Sharma.”

 

The first Test will also be the farewell game for Sri Lanka’s spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan, the world’s leading taker of Test (792) and one-day (515) wickets, as he retires from the longer version of the game.

 

Muralitharan, 38, is just eight scalps shy of 800 Test wickets and Dhoni said his team will try to make sure it stays that way.

 

“Murali is a great person. But I think our batsmen would like not to give him the opportunity to reach 800 wickets during the first Test,” Dhoni said.

 

 ^AFP