One cricket rule which Tendulkar wants to change

Sachin Tendulkar, fondly considered the god of cricket, recently connected with his cricket-obsessed fans on Reddit during an AMA (Ask Me Anything) where he talked about his son Arjun Tendulkar’s engagement,

offered to surface his Aadhaar card to prove it was him, the real deal, speaking directly to the fans, and shared why he suggested the then head coach Gary Kirsten to send Mahendra Singh Dhoni ahead of Yuvraj Singh in the 2011 World Cup Final.

Responding to a fan question, Tendulkar revealed one cricket rule that he would happily change: Umpire’s Call.

What Is Umpire’s Call?

The Umpire’s Call has become an integral part of the DRS (Decision Review System), which assists in validating the decision taken by the on-field umpire. In a scenario where a batter feels they are not out, they can go upstairs, where the third umpire uses TV replays and ball tracking technology to pass their final verdict. When a not-out decision is challenged in the context of LBW (Leg Before Wicket), the current rules state that at least 50% of the ball needs to hit one of the three stumps to be declared out. In a case when 50% of the ball isn’t hitting the stumps, the third umpire goes with the on-field umpire’s original decision of not-out, stating that the not-out decision was taken in favour of the on-field official, termed “umpire’s call”.

Former England captain Naseer Hussain’s brilliant explanation of the Umpire’s Call has often been cited, especially during heated debates over controversial decisions.

Ben Stokes wants Umpire calls to be Removed.

Nasser Hussain has explained brilliantly why umpire calls need to be there and important. It will be better if Nasser Hussain meets Ben Stokes and explain him in Person.pic.twitter.com/nfpjblZdoR

— Sujeet Suman (@sujeetsuman1991) February 18, 2024

Also Read: Umpire’s Call: What It Means & How It Affects LBW Decisions In Cricket

ICC’s Definition

According to the ICC (International Cricket Council), “Umpire’s Call is the concept within the DRS under which the on-field decision of the bowler’s end umpire shall stand, which shall apply under the specific circumstances… where the ball-tracking technology indicates a marginal decision in respect of either the Impact Zone or the Wicket Zone.”

“Some part of the ball was inside the Impact Zone, but the centre of the ball was outside the Impact Zone, with the further sub-category of ‘Umpire’s Call (off side)’ where the centre of the ball was to the off side of the Impact Zone and the bowler’s end umpire communicates to the third umpire that no genuine attempt to play the ball was made by the batter.”

Sachin Tendulkar’s Take – Reddit

Tendulkar would shelve the Umpire’s Call. Yes, he’s not in favour of it. He asserted that a batter goes upstairs when they are unhappy with the on-field decision. There shouldn’t exist an option to go back to that call. Like batters, umpires too suffered from bad patches, he added.

“I would change the DRS rule on Umpire’s call. Players have chosen to go upstairs because they were unhappy with the on-field umpire’s call. Hence there should be no option to go back to that call. Just like how players have bad patches, umpires too have bad patches. Technology even when inaccurate will be consistently inaccurate,” he said in response to a fan’s question asking the legend about one rule change he could bring to the sport.

Tendulkar’s Call

The cricket great has been vocal about his displeasure with the existence of Umpire’s Call, as he has stated previously, explaining why he doesn’t believe in it when the DRS technology was being used. He stated that during a series, India had referred around 15 decisions and only one was awarded to India. He said either India did not know how to refer DRS or there was “something wrong” with the system.

“When we went to Sri Lanka in 2008, it used to be called UDRS (Umpire Decision Review System). Anil was our captain at that time; he had played for India for 17-18 years by then. Rahul was there, Sourav was there, Laxman was there, I was there… Zaheer, Harbhajan… you name all these guys who were around for a good 10-15 years or even more,” Tendulkar told Aakash Chopra in a chat on YouTube.

Also Read: Sachin Tendulkar Reveals Why Team India Opposed Using DRS

“In that series, we had referred around 15 decisions (20 referrals in total) to the third umpire and out of those, we were awarded just one decision. So, either we didn’t know how to refer – not able to judge LBWs and these things – or there was something wrong with that system.”

The maestro further asserted that whether 49% or 51% of the ball was hitting the stumps, it should be declared out.

“I just feel that when the ball pitches, its centre point, the ball has to pitch inside the line. But when the ball hits the stumps, it need not be to centre point. It could be centre point, it could be left side, ride side or even the bottom of the ball, whatever. When it hits the stumps, it hits from four different points. So whether it is hitting, 49 percent or 51 percent, it should be out,” he said.