Everybody should be happy with DRS: Kohli

India were previously strident critics of the Decision Review System (DRS) but Virat Kohli is a big believer, saying all cricketers should be happy with it.

Virat Kohli.

Unlike his predecessor, Indian captain Virat Kohli says he is a fan of the Decision Review System. (AAP)

India captain Virat Kohli believes every Test cricketer should be happy with the Decision Review System (DRS), while Tim Paine concedes his recent criticism of ball-tracking technology was too emotional.

The DRS, designed to remove umpiring howlers by allowing batsmen and the fielding captain to refer some decisions, was first trialled in a Test between India and Sri Lanka in 2008.

It made such a terrible impression that India, concerned about the accuracy of technology, refused to use it again for eight years.

But whereas former skipper MS Dhoni was a staunch - and vocal - critic of the system, Kohli is happy to accept any imperfections and inconsistencies because the good outweighs the bad.

India's first Test against Australia was a prime example.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane both overturned their dismissals in India's second innings to swing momentum in the low-scoring match at Adelaide Oval.

But the third umpire's day-five reprieve for Pat Cummins, which surprised many commentators, could have proven costly given the tailender was on zero at the time and threatened to drag Australia to the most unlikely of victories.

"We had a word with the umpires," Kohli said, when asked about Cummins' dismissal being overturned.

"You have to take all the pros and cons with it. Sometimes the inconclusive decisions go your way and sometimes they don't.

"I'm OK with it.

"There are significant decisions that the DRS has been able to overrule and the game has gone to a different dimension altogether, it's something I think all cricketers should be happy with."

Kohli accepted it's unlikely DRS would ever be "totally error-free" and that was fine.

"I'm sure they'll look at the technological blips that are happening right now and try to correct them," he said.

Paine flagged concerns about ball-tracking technology after the first Test, suggesting "a lot of balls seem to be going over the top ... that live don't look like they are".

"It's just frustrating, I'd imagine it's frustrating for everyone," Paine said in Adelaide.

Paine admitted on Thursday he was "probably a little bit emotional or upset" while making those comments.

"I certainly understand how it works and understand the technology," he said before the second Test.

""It was more probably a little bit of frustration coming out, that we got a few wrong and we thought a couple might have been hitting the stumps that weren't.

"It's an ongoing challenge for the players and something we need to get better at."


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Source: AAP


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Everybody should be happy with DRS: Kohli | SBS News