Parthiv Patel urges change in DRS rules as ‘clever’ Steve Smith takes advantage of loopholes

Australian skipper Steve Smith impressed everyone with his captaincy skills during the third test for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Indore. However, he also got into limelight for his clever tactics as he found a loophole in the DRS rule and used it for his team’s benefit after which former Indian wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel has urged to change the DRS rules.

TV umpire should only review the stumping says Parthiv Patel on Steve Smith’s DRS exploits

During the third test between Australia and India, the Aussie skipper found a loophole in the DRS rule as he discovered that each time a stumping appeal was made, it was immediately sent upstairs by the on-field umpire and the third umpire, according to the rule, checked for an outside edge as well.

This loophole helps the fielding side and saves them from losing a review on potential caught-behind dismissals. Time and again, Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey made sure to remove the bails after which Steve Smith made a loud appeal for stumping, convincing the on-field umpire to go upstairs for the review. Here’s the video.

Steve Smith exploited the loophole in the rule quite effectively and even got success twice including the wicket of Ravichandran Ashwin in the first innings. While the Australian side managed to save their DRS reviews using this tactic, it didn’t go well with many experts including former Indian wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel who urged for a change in DRS rules.

“Steve Smith is aware of that and he exploited the loophole. The on-field umpire should avoid going to the third umpire if he is sure that it’s not out when there is an appeal for a stumping,” Parthiv Patel said on Cricbuzz.

“The ideal solution is that the TV umpire should only review the stumping if the appeal is made only for a stumping. A caught behind should not be checked unless the fielding captain opts for a review,” the former Indian wicketkeeper further added.

While Steve Smith faced backlash for his DRS exploits, his leadership was applauded on most occasions as he kept the Indian team under constant pressure which was quite tough after Team India defeated them in the first two tests in a convincing manner.

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Team India were bowled out for just 163 runs in the second innings as Nathan Lyon took an eight-wicket haul. The Aussie batters comfortably chased down the target of 76 in the second innings on Day 3 in Indore with 9 wickets in hand.