Ravichandran Ashwin reveals how DRS in domestic cricket can transform batters with ‘faulty technique’

Veteran India off-spinner is currently enjoying the Duleep Trophy 2024 at home. However, Ashwin is observing the tournament quite closely. Recently, he highlighted the importance of DRS in domestic cricket and reasoned how the system is opening the flaws in the techniques of some young domestic batters.

Ashwin gave the example of Ricky Bhui's dismissal to the left-arm spinner Manav Suthar in which the batter was trying to defend the ball by keeping his bat behind the pad. The technique of defending by keeping the bat behind the pad was quite normal in the pre-DRS era.

However, the technology brought more clarity in decision-making. As in this case, India D batter Ricky Bhui was given not out by the on-field umpire. But India C decided to take the DRS and the decision was overturned as the ball was hitting the pads first.

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Ravichandran Ashwin claims Ricky Bhui has 'faulty technique'

After observing the incident closely, Ravichandran Ashwin took to social media and called Ricky Bhui's technique 'faulty'. He cited the example of Ricky Bhui's dismissal and claimed that the batter would have been saved with this technique if there was no DRS.

"DRS for domestic cricket is not just for the right decisions to be made. Ricky Bhuvi’s dismissal last evening against Manav Suthar is a classic case of a batter who will get away with this technique 10/10 times in FC cricket. This was not a faulty technique pre DRS but now it is. Back in the day batters were given not out just because they managed to get on the front foot," Ashwin posted on X (formerly Twitter).

DRS for domestic cricket is not just for the right decisions to be made.

Ricky Bhuvi’s dismissal last evening against Manav Suthar is a classic case of a batter who will get away with this technique 10/10 times in FC cricket.

This was not a faulty technique pre DRS but now it… pic.twitter.com/Ip2BXHgJBe

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) September 7, 2024

Ravichandran Ashwin hails BCCI's decision to introduce DRS in domestic cricket

The legendary offspinner further added that keeping the bat behind the pad could be fatal and a young batter like Ricky Bhui is not used to keeping his bat in front of the pad.

"Now, keeping your bat behind the pad can be fatal, imagine someone making the climb to international cricket without getting this experience Ricky got yesterday. He could very well take an entire test series to understand what he needs to work on and his career could well be over. This is a fab experience for more than just one reason 👏👏 @BCCI," Ashwin added.

Ricky Bhui's dismissal was one of those examples in which the young domestic batters are used to defend by keeping their bat behind the pad. However, such batters face problems in adjusting to international cricket due to the availability of DRS. Bhui was dismissed for 44.

The umpiring has always been under the scanner in domestic cricket over the years. However, the BCCI decided to introduce the DRS during the 2019-20 season of Ranji Trophy. The technology was introduced in the semi-final and the final. However, the technology was partially feasible during that time as it did not have UltraEdge or ball-tracking.

However, the BCCI decided to bring an upgraded version of DRS in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy final. Currently, the technology is not available for the whole season of the Ranji Trophy but is available for the important matches such as the semi-finals and the final.