Indians support possible future introduction of DRS: Kohli (Roundup)

Kolkata Sep 29 (IANS) Veering away from the stance taken by the team management and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) earlier, Indias Test captain Virat Kohli on Thursday backed the Decision Review System (DRS) and said the team would look forward to its introduction in future.

"We will certainly look to probably introduce it [DRS] in future," Kohli said on the eve of the second Test against New Zealand at the Eden Gardens here.

The BCCI has been the only board in the cricketing world opposed to the DRS, arguing that it is not "foolproof". Kohli's predecessor as Test captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who now leads the team in limited overs formats, also has consistently opposed the DRS, which is now used in all Test matches not featuring India and ICC tournaments.

Kohli divulged there have been "meetings and discussions" about it and the DRS is something they "definitely want to think about".

"Those are the things I can't say yes or no to sitting here," Kohli told the media.

"But these are the things we have discussed. These are things we have had meetings on. Because there were some areas that we felt can be debated. Especially the ball-tracking and HawkEye. But, all in all, obviously when you feel that -- I personally feel -- these things can be discussed and debated on," said Kohli.

BCCI President Anurag Thakur said last month that India was ready to accept the DRS, but minus the HawkEye.

In the past, India have often been victims of umpiring decisions which could have been easily rectified had the DRS been used in those games.

In fact, Kiwi captain Kane Williamson nicked a caught behind in the first innings of the series opener at Kanpur earlier this week which was not given.

Asked about it, Kohli said: "We wouldn't take (wrong umpiring) decisions too hard because we, in the first place, decided we would not use DRS. For us to then say that the umpires made an error and it is going against us, it is not logical. There is no room for excuses."

Kohli said the grey areas could be sorted out once the DRS was in place.

"Once the DRS is in place, once DRS is up and running for us as well, then you can sit and think what are the grey areas...We want to definitely think about it...It's something we have had discussions on."

India are one win away from regaining the No.1 spot on the ICC Test Championships ranking, but Kohli said he doesn't care about rankings.

"Records don't motivate me. If you look at the Test team two years back and now, the way we are playing, it's easy to get carried away. You forget to focus on the process if you are thinking about rankings all the time," he said.

A win would propel the Indian team to the pinnacle of the Test rankings, besides winning the three-match series. The hosts now lead 1-0 following a 197-run win in the Kanpur Test.

"We don't care about rankings, it is temporary. If we are attached to that, it can upset you. Things change in rankings. These things change as other teams improve. If we keep thinking about that all the time, it doesn't help," said the dashing right-hander.

Kohli said he was not bothered about a rare run drought over the last three innings.

"I don't think about these things. Cricket is a game where you can only prepare well. Results cannot be in your hand all the time. You get caught to a no-ball and different things can happen which are out of your control," Kohli said.

The 27-year-old batsman said he doesn't believe in 'form'.

"I don't think there is anything called 'form'. It is how you are feeling on a certain day. It always doesn't mean you are out of form. It's just about how you are feeling mentally on a given day. We want to understand what we want to achieve and be stable in our head. I am looking to work hard," Kohli said.

Kohli also put his weight behind Ravindra Jadeja, saying the all-rounder needs the support of the entire team to realise how good his batting is.

Jadeja, who has often been under the lens for his batting style in the longest format of the game, came up trumps in the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur both with the bat and the ball, scoring 42 and 50 not out and also taking six wickets in the match.

"I think he used to think too much about Test cricket before. People have different ways of playing and we feel he should not change his batting style," Kohli said of the left-hander who was promoted in the last game and he excelled.

Coming to the second Test, Kohli hoped the Eden pitch would be good to bat on.

--IANS

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