The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the latest professional sports league to announce the use of a replay system to assist its officials in making the correct call.
The IPL has agreed to feature a Decision Review System (DRS) for the 2018 season, which kicks off in early-April. “Yes, this idea has been going around for many years,” said IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla to reporters last Wednesday according to the Press Trust of India news agency.
#IPL2018 will see the use of DRS for the 1st time.. #IPL becomes the 2nd T20 Tournament after #PakistanSuperLeague to use DRS.. pic.twitter.com/njb0e0zEMM
— Ramesh Bala (@rameshlaus) March 21, 2018
Here’s what you need to know:
-Each team will have access to one review per inning. Reviews will include slow-motion replay, microphones and thermal imaging technology.
-For a while, India heavily resisted this technology. A breaking point may have been high-profile players complaining about missed calls. One player was even fined last year for breaching the code of conduct. He made a gesture asking for a review while fully knowing there was no DRS.
-To familiarize themselves with the review technology, the IPL’s umpires will attend a seminar prior to the start of the season.
-The IPL is not the first cricket league to adopt the technology — the Pakistan Super League began using DRS last season.
SportTechie Takeaway:
It shouldn’t come as a surprise when we tell you that numerous leagues throughout the world are relying on replay technology to assist officials in getting calls right, from high school football programs in New Jersey to SEC baseball and now on to the IPL in India.
Another previously resistant organization, FIFA, is set to start leaning on video review. The soccer giant plans on rolling out Video Assistant Referees (VAR) at this summer’s World Cup to look at goals, penalties and red cards.