We Know That Technology Is Not 100 Percent Correct - Nitin Menon Explains The Importance Of Umpire's Call In DRS

The ‘Umpire’s Call’ and the Decision Review System (DRS) have been amongst heavy talks in the recent past; so has been Nitin Menon, who was the on-field umpire in the series between India and England.

While the Umpire’s Call is under scrutiny – with some even asking for it to be scrapped altogether- Nitin Menon has earned plenty of praise for his sharp work as an on-field umpire in the series where the pitches were difficult to bat on, making challenging for the umpire as well to make decisions.

An 81.54 percentage (according to ESPNcricinfo) of reviews were upheld in the series, indicating that Menon and his colleagues did a fantastic job.

Despite the DRS being instigated more than a decade ago, with some changes in the rules and more specifically the umpire’s call, still, there are so many uncertainties amongst fans in understanding it.

The very close decisions, which are 50-50, go with the call of the on-field umpire: Nitin Menon

Hence, Menon, who was last year promoted to the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, tries to make it more clear as to why the Umpire’s Call is necessary for the DRS. The 37-year-old points out that since the DRS technology is not 100 per cent perfect or accurate, it has a margin of error.

Therefore, an umpire’s call is needed – rather it is indispensable – until the technology is full-proof and guarantees 100 per cent accuracy. Otherwise, the umpire’s call will remain meaning the final decision stays with the initial decision of the on-field umpire.

“See, first of all, Umpire’s Call means regarding decisions which are very close. The decisions which are 50-50, which can go either way, go with the call of the on-field umpire.

“It is not a completely perfect decision that has been overturned, so it is a 50-50 decision which can go either way- to the batting side or the fielding side. When we know that technology is not itself 100% correct so that is when you need the Umpire’s Call,” Nitin Menon told ANI.

“When we know technology is not 100 % correct, so whatever the on-field decision is given since it is a very marginal call, so we will stick with the decision the on-field umpire has given.

“This concept needs to be understood by the general public because they are not aware of why Umpire’s Call concept is there in DRS. It is basically because it was a marginal call and 100% technology can’t say whether it was hitting the stumps or not,” Nitin Menon added

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