NEW DELHI, Mar 19: The 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from Friday will introduce a Smart Replay System for quick, accurate decision-making and a less rigid process.
According to reports, eight of Hawk-Eye’s high-speed cameras will be spread over the ground, and two Hawk-Eye operators will be seated in the same room as the TV umpire, providing him with images obtained by them as part of the Smart Replay System.
Under the new arrangement, the TV broadcast director–who up until now served as a liaison between the Hawk-Eye operators and the third umpire–will not be involved. It is claimed that the TV umpire will have access to more visuals–including split-screen images–than he did in the past thanks to the Smart Replay System. Consider the fielder on the boundary rope making an overhead catch in mid-air. A split screen of the fielder’s feet and hands at the exact instant the ball was caught was previously unavailable to the broadcaster.
With the new setup, synchronized video of the moment the foot contacted or avoided the rope may be shown on a split screen with the umpire calling the ball’s catch or release. Likewise, in the event of an overthrow that results in a four, a split screen can now display whether or not the hitters were crossing at the time the fielder released the ball. Now that the Hawk-Eye operators have photographs of the precise moment the throw was launched together with the positions of the batters at that same moment, they may provide the TV umpire with that information (consider the World Cup final of 2019 as an example of a specific use case).
Previously, the broadcaster’s inability to combine the two photos utilizing broadcast cameras and resources was the main reason why the TV umpire did not receive such clear visuals. Cricket’s ‘Super Bowl’ Indian Premier League is set to return this week with a blockbuster opening clash between defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in a South Indian derby at their home arena–MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday.
The schedule until April 7 was revealed as of now, with the remainder to be announced later because of the upcoming Lok Sabha Polls the dates for which are yet to be notified.
(Manas Dasgupta)
