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LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has opted against using the Decision Review System (DRS) in the upcoming Test series’ against Sri Lanka and England.
The DRS will, however, be used in the ODI and Twenty20 matches against the two countries.
A senior PCB official attributed this decision to the high cost of installing the DRS technology for a series.
“We in principle support the use of the DRS and want it for both Tests and ODIs but unfortunately we couldn't reach an understanding with our broadcasters for the Tests,” PCB’s Chief Operating Officer Subhan Ahmed was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India (PTI).
“We have however reached an understanding with a company to bear the costs for the use of the UDRS technology in the one-day matches in both series,” the official said.
Pakistan will play three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20s against Sri Lanka in October and November, while they will play three Tests, four ODIs and two Twenty20s and England in January-February in 2012.
Due to the security concerns in Pakistan, both these series will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Ahmed said that since the ICC ruling on using the DRS in every series, provided that the teams taking part in the series agreed to use it, did not come into force until after the PCB had signed its current contract with its broadcaster, Ten Sports, the cost of having the DRS was not included in the contract.
“But when we sign our next contract for broadcasting rights we will try to ensure the broadcaster is willing to bear the costs of using the DRS system in our series including Tests and ODIs,” the official said.
It is estimated that the cost of having the DRS for one ODI is between seven to eight thousand dollars.
