Should wide and waist-high no-balls come under DRS?
Wrong decisions about the no-balls and wides given by the umpires have led to many controversies in the game at various points in time. The players get to use the Decision Review System (DRS) in case of dismissals, but all the successful reviews fail when there’s havoc on the field during the death overs, a time when both the batters and the bowlers are under deep pressure.
Many players and experts have opined that a new rule of including the wides and waist-high no balls should be made a part of the DRS, and their point is absolutely correct. Incorrect decisions have led to the team losing a deserving game by the bare minimum margin. A recent case of such a controversial decision was seen during the 47th match of the IPL 2022.
When the Rajasthan Royals clashed against the Kolkata Knight Riders when the former were defending 18 runs in the final two overs. RR skipper Sanju Samson was fuming when the umpire adjudged multiple deliveries as no-balls. It was seen that the batters moved towards the ball but it was given a wide nonetheless by the umpire, which led to KKR getting the bonus runs in the penultimate over.
According to the ICC rule 22.4.1 on wides, “The umpire shall not adjudge a delivery as being a Wide, if the striker, by moving, either causes the ball to pass wide of him/her, or brings the ball sufficiently within reach to be able to hit it by means of a normal cricket stroke.”
Notably, this has not been the only such case, as there have been plenty of such cases where the games ended in a thriller but caused the feeling of disappointment for a side towards the end over decisions related to a wide or no-ball. Recently, Rishabh Pant was fined 100% of his match fee when he intervened in a controversial waist-high no-ball decision. Third umpires do check the front foot, but it is not usual in the other case.
Thus, to avoid such moments on the field, the players should be allowed to review the no-balls and wide-balls in order to end the game on a positive note and avoid such scenes in the game.
