Pak vs NZ: Pakistan left high and dry as BCCI snaps up DRS company for IPL

• BCCI hires three crews to operate DRS system for IPL, pays them four times more. 
• Players will not have the option to review decisions if on-field umpires get it wrong.
• Pakistan hopeful of hiring DRS crew by next month for England series. 

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been left with no choice but to proceed without the Decision Review System (DRS) after India hired the system operators for the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

Read more: Pak vs NZ: Why will DRS not be used during series?

The Pakistan-New Zealand series, most likely, will be bereft of the DRS system as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has hired the DRS operation team by paying four times more than what the PCB was offering them.

Sources said the BCCI has hired three DRS crews to work on the IPL, adding that the league will take place during the Pakistan-New Zealand ODI and T20 series in September.

Pakistan, on the other hand, was unable to hire a DRS crew from Australia and other countries for the New Zealand series. However, the PCB hopes it can secure a team to operate the DRS technology during the upcoming series against England next month.

However, sources said the chances of that happening are next to impossible. The DRS technology can only be operated by crews approved by the ICC.

“It is important to have ICC-approved DRS operators in international events and operators were not available during the period, that’s why the PCB has dropped DRS from the series,” a source had told Geo News earlier.

The DRS is a technology-based process for assisting match officials with their decision-making.

On-field umpires may consult with the third umpire (an Umpire Review) and players may request that the third umpire consider a decision of the on-field umpires (a Player Review) during a match.