India may implement DRS sooner than later

India may be ready to accept more responsibility for improving the decision review system (DRS) as part of their new leadership role in the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The controversial reforms to the ICC were ratified at the weekend in Singapore, conferring greater power on England, Australia and especially India as the three major wealth-generators of world cricket.

According to The Guardian, India's willingness to listen afresh to the arguments in favour of DRS, and to play a key role in working on it rather than railing against it, is a new development.

The chief executives committee of the ICC had a lengthy session on DRS in Dubai two weeks ago, in which David Collier, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, played a leading role and the former India leg-spinner Anil Kumble was also involved.

That is likely to see the amended implementation of DRS that was trialled by Nigel Llong in the Old Trafford car park during last summer's Ashes series, whereby a television official will be given greater access to a wide range of replays, which will be introduced for the first time at a major tournament at the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh next month.

But in the longer term there are hopes that India will take the lead in refining technology - Australia previously led in the development of Hot Spot and Real Time Snicko - in an effort to reduce the number of errors and controversies and to ensure more robust testing procedures.