Ben Stokes Advocates for DRS Rule Change After India’s Dominant 434-Run Victory: ‘We Were Wronged Three Times’

England captain Ben Stokes has called for a reevaluation of the Decision Review System (DRS) following a controversial lbw decision during the team’s loss in the third Test against India in Rajkot. Zak Crawley, the batsman involved, challenged Kumar Dharmasena’s decision to dismiss him lbw to Jasprit Bumrah, opting for a review. Despite the projected path indicating the ball would miss the top of the leg stump, Crawley was left frustrated as the decision stood.

This wasn’t the first time Crawley faced a tight DRS call, having experienced a similar situation in the previous Test. Stokes, along with head coach Brendon McCullum, sought clarification from match referee Jeff Crowe after the match, expressing dissatisfaction with the decision.

Stokes disclosed that while there was acknowledgment of an error in the displayed image, Hawk-Eye confirmed that the underlying calculations supported the on-field decision.

“We just sought some clarity around Zak’s DRS when reviewing the images,” Stokes.

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“The replay clearly shows the ball missing the stump. So, when it’s given the umpire’s call, and the ball isn’t hitting the stumps, we were puzzled. Therefore, we wanted some clarity from the Hawk-Eye team.

“It was stated that the numbers, or whatever they are, indicated that it was hitting the stumps but the projection was incorrect. I’m not sure what that means. Something seems off, so, yeah. I’m not blaming this for what happened here, as I didn’t last week. It’s just… what’s happening?”

England suffered a significant 434-run defeat in the Test in Rajkot, and Stokes emphasized that he didn’t want to attribute DRS decisions as the primary reason for the loss. However, he advocated for scrapping the umpire’s call altogether.

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“We’ve been on the wrong side of three umpire’s calls this game, which is part of DRS. You’re either on the right side or the wrong side. Unfortunately, we’ve been on the wrong side. I won’t say that’s why we’ve lost this game because 500 runs is a lot,” Stokes remarked.

“It’s not something you attribute solely to the result of the game. Sometimes, when you’re on the wrong end of those decisions, it stings, but it’s part of the game. You want them to go your way; sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.

“You just want a fair playing field. The umpires have a tough job, especially in India when the ball is spinning. In my personal opinion, if the ball is hitting the stumps, it’s hitting the stumps. They should eliminate ‘umpire’s call’ if I’m being honest. I don’t want to dwell on it too much because it may seem like we’re complaining and blaming our loss on that.”

The 434-run loss marks England’s most significant defeat (by runs margin) since Ben Stokes assumed the Test captaincy. The visitors collapsed within two sessions on Day 4, managing only 122 runs in the 557-run chase after India’s batting lineup, led by Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, and Shubman Gill, wreaked havoc on them.