Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has suggested a change to T20 cricket whereby captains have the ability to review a wide ball if they feel it is a wrong call.
In an Instagram interaction with KL Rahul, where Kohli was asked to suggest a rule that he would like to change, Kohli said: “I am going to speak as a captain … As a captain, I would like to have the ability to review a wide, which could be a wrong call, or a waist-high full-toss, which could be a wrong call.”
“We have seen this historically how big these small things can be in such a high-profile tournament such as IPL and in general T20 cricket.
“It is so fast-paced and you can miss small margins and we have all seen this is a big factor,” Kohli said. “You guys must have discussed it [at Kings XI Punjab]. We have discussed it internally too [at RCB]. If you lose the game by a run and you are not able to review that wide, it could make a massive difference in someone’s campaign.”
Kohli’s suggestion comes on the back of a controversial incident during IPL 2020, when Chennai Super Kings wicketkeeper and captain MS Dhoni appeared to influence umpire Paul Reiffel’s decision to signal a wide ball. Reiffel seemingly pulled out of calling a wide after MS Dhoni and bowler Shardul Thakur appeared to protest the signal.
Rahul, the Kings XI Punjab skipper, agreed with Kohli, saying that his IPL team’s first game in IPL 2020 “started with that [controversial call], hinting at the incorrect short run call in their game against Delhi Capitals, which moved into a super over, and eventually ended in Punjab’s loss.
This was called ‘one short’. Thoughts? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/EOtoZWAD1W
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) September 20, 2020
“If that rule comes in, it is very good,” Rahul said. “You can give a team two reviews and say you can use it for whatever.”
“We had a similar experience last year in out first game,” Kohli said. “Margins do matter. People don’t look at it that way, but they do matter for sure.”
