Ranji conclave: Introducing DRS to dropping coin toss - captains and coaches put forth suggestions

The introduction of Decision Review system in Ranji Trophy and doing away with the concept of coin toss were among some of the suggestions put forward by the captains and the coaches of the domestic teams during a conclave conducted by the BCCI, in Mumbai Friday.

DRS has been so far restricted to international cricket but the call to introduce it in domestic structure has grown following poor umpiring decisions in the last Ranji Trophy season, which saw a significant rise in the number of matches with the addition of new teams.

During the conclave, the captains and coaches called for the introduction of DRS with the available technology for televised (television and digital broadcast) Ranji Trophy games.

Multiple umpiring howlers marred the Ranji semifinal between Saurashtra and Karnataka, last season. Key batsman Cheteshwar Pujara was ruled not out despite a huge nick and his century changed the course of the match.

There was also discussion on doing away with the coin toss and letting the visiting team make a decision to bat or bowl first.

The BCCI Captain and Coaches Conclave 2019 is currently underway in Mumbai. Here are some .

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The captains and coaches also deliberated over the relevance of Duleep Trophy and the Irani Trophy.

"With the domestic structure now involving 37 teams, a discussion was held on the relevance and significance of Duleep Trophy and the Irani Trophy and opinion on the same was sought," a source who attended the conclave, said.

It was also discussed if knockout games of Ranji Trophy should be on a home-and-away basis or at neutral venues.

To improve the standard of the games, suggestions were made regarding the "introduction of evaluation reports by Match Referees about umpires" and "evaluation of Match referees by the umpires." Issues related to the "quality of balls" used throughout the season and "slow over rates" were also discussed and suggestions were sought during the conclave.

For suggestions to become a reality, the approval of the BCCI technical committee and then the ratification by the General Body is required.

As of now, there is neither the technical committee nor the General body since an ad-hoc body is running the affairs of the cricket body.