India's Resistance to DRS

The Refusal

The BCCI was the most prominent opponent of DRS when it was introduced. For years, India played bilateral series without DRS — meaning the technology was available but India refused to use it.

This created a bizarre situation where India used DRS at ICC events (where it was mandatory) but not in home series or bilateral tours.

Stated Concerns

The BCCI cited several concerns:

• Accuracy of ball-tracking technology (particularly in Indian conditions with more spin)
• Cost of implementation
• HotSpot technology being unreliable
• The 'umpire's call' element being subjective

Some of these concerns had merit — HotSpot was indeed dropped by several boards. But many observers felt the real reasons were different.

The Sachin Factor

Critics pointed out that several of Sachin Tendulkar's controversial dismissals might have been saved by DRS. There was speculation (never confirmed) that the BCCI's resistance was partly driven by not wanting technology to expose umpiring errors that might have benefited Indian players.

Tendulkar himself was dismissive of DRS in public statements, though he later softened his stance.

Eventually Adopted

India gradually adopted DRS. They first used it in a bilateral series against England in 2016. Since then, India has fully embraced the technology.

Ironically, India has been one of the most effective users of DRS since adoption, with Indian teams generally showing strong review judgment.

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