Team India satisfied with DRS: Kumble

Mumbai: India’s head coach Anil Kumble on Tuesday asserted that the Indian players are very satisfied with outcomes from the Decision Review System (DRS) in ongoing five-match Test series against England.

Kumble had played his part in bringing India onboard the DRS bandwagon. India were the first to get a feel of DRS, on the 2008 tour of Sri Lanka, but refused to accept it as they felt the technology, particularly for ball-tracking, was not 100 percent.

However, they have come around following improvements made by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in the technology now being used.

“It (DRS) has been really good, it has been an experiment that has been happening in the series, but overall players have been very satisfied with the outcome. I think the DRS has added to the balance that you expect in international cricket,” said Kumble at a press interaction ahead of the fourth Test at the Wankhede Stadium, starting here from December 8.

The great-Indian leggie also emphasised on the need of a settled opening pair. India had three different opening pairs during the New Zealand series and when it toured the West Indies.

“It’s not in our control; injuries are part and parcel of the game. Unfortunately (KL) Rahul got hit while he was fielding in Vizag and that’s how he got the injury. Most of the injuries have been cricket related,” Kumble said.

“Ideally yes, that’s (Murali Vijay and Rahul) the settled opening pair that you would want, but in the circumstances we have done really well. Parthiv Patel came in the last game and did a fantastic job at the top,” he added.

The 46-year-old also insisted that the fitness parameters of the current Indian team are probably the best that has ever been.

“I played in 90s where fitness and strength conditioning was at personal choice, and not a team choice. In 2000, the culture changed and you could see the difference of a team and now, it is a part and parcel of modern cricket,” he said.

“We are in a good space and the team is really doing well and I am really not worried. Yes we keep a track of workloads, especially of the fast bowlers and if we feel we need to pull back on players, we have done that in the past as well, we will continue to monitor,” he added.

When asked about the English batsman not being able to play a dominating innings despite their trying, the legendary leg-spinner said, “It’s a tribute to our bowling attack and the field placements that Virat has set as a captain. I think it’s a tribute to the way we have been able to set field and bowl accordingly in partnerships, not individual.We hope that we would be able to continue.”

England, which is currently trailing the five-match series 0-2, will next lock horns with the Virat Kohli-led side at the Wankhede Stadium from Thursday, with an almost impossible task of staging a comeback.

Having drawn the first Test in Rajkot, the Alastair Cook-led side suffered crushing defeats in Visakhapatnam and Mohali. Therefore, it would be a herculean task for the visitors to stage a comeback against India, which is looking dominant enough to clinch the series with both their batters and bowlers performing exceedingly well.

ANI