Eligible for domestic IPL but not for IPL: Why BCCI still prefers DLS over VJD ‘Made in India’ method? | Top Vip News

It has been more than sixteen years since the Board of Control of India (BCCI) started using the V Jayadevan (VJD) method for its domestic competitions. After an initial six-month trial in 2006, the Indian cricket board has been using the method used to calculate targets in rain-truncated limited overs matches, but continues to ignore it as its most important property.

At a time when the entire country is seeing a wave of ‘Make in India’, the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s largest T20 league, still uses a foreign method for its calculations.

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The Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, formally adopted by the International Cricket Council (ICC), remains the BCCI’s preference even as it uses the VJD method for all its domestic matches. Not just BCCI tournaments, even state T20 leagues like the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) use the VJD method, but a trial for the IPL is yet to be done.

Founder V Jayadevan has relentlessly knocked on BCCI’s doors but has returned disappointed due to lack of interest from officials. He had last interacted with BCCI general manager Abey Kuruvilla in March 2023 and was assured of a meeting to discuss the possibility of using VJD for IPL 2024. Some communications followed but there has been no dialogue for over six months.

“There has been no dialogue with the BCCI in more than six months. The last time I met BCCI officials was in March 2023, when Abey Kuruvilla told me that he will arrange a meeting to discuss the possibility of using the VJD method for IPL 2024. I don’t know why the BCCI is opposed to using it in the IPL when all other competitions and domestic leagues in the country use this. The IPL is also India’s domestic T20 league,” says Jayadevan.

IPL not averse to VJD

Indian Premier League Governing Council chairman Arun Dhumal says they are not averse to trying the VJD method in the cash-rich league but they need the go-ahead from umpires and umpires.

“We are not averse to using it and it can definitely be explored, but information on referees and match officials would be important. We need to discuss with them to see if this can be implemented and then discussions can move forward,” says Dhumal.

When asked why only IPL uses DLS method while all other Indian domestic tournaments including state T20 leagues use VJD, Dhumal says DLS is being used since the first season of IPL and has also been formally adopted by the ICC.

“Since the first season, IPL uses the DLS method. It is also formally adopted by the ICC for international matches. But we can definitely explore the VJD method for future editions and get inputs from referees and match officials in this regard,” adds Dhumal.

In the past, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had advocated the VJD method and it was thanks to his push that it was implemented in India’s domestic tournaments from 2007 onwards. Gavaskar, during his tenure as chairman of the technical committee of the BCCI, which also had former captain Sourav Ganguly, on board, recommended VJD for the 2011 IPL, but he did not get the necessary approvals from senior BCCI officials.

Lump Sum Payments

Jayadevan, an engineer by training, has only received two payments from the BCCI and a substantial amount was released by the current administration, where secretary Jay Shah facilitated a payment of Rs 21 lakh in February last year. Before this, he only received Rs 5 lakh in 2010, but he does not complain and is “satisfied” with the payments made. For him, “future events” are key.

“I am satisfied with the payments made to me by the BCCI and the only concern is the lack of interest in future events,” laments Jayadevan.

During his interactions with the ICC, Jayadevan pointed out flaws in the DLS method and it was his findings that forced DLS to undergo an upgrade.

“The DLS method, which the ICC uses, has many problems that I pointed out to the ICC’s top brass during my communication with them years ago. Even the DLS was updated to a newer version after I identified and reported the problem areas to them. “I have been doing this for over 20 years and I can safely say that VJD is an all-round method,” says Jayadevan.

To make their method easier to use, Jayadevan and Keshav Kolle, an arbitrator from Bengaluru, implemented a major VJD update in 2023 that allowed access to various calculations from Android and iOS devices. The update was also intended to have control over users and allow access only to registered users. In addition to the control, the updated method has some important adjustments in the calculations for the T20 format.

Jayadevan approached the BCCI to use the updated version of the method, but there has been no movement on that front and the cricket board is still using the 2014 version of the method. He had also drawn up a cost plan for the entire Indian domestic calendar and the cost of using the updated method was proposed at just Rs 120 per match.

“We contacted the BCCI with the updated version and explained that it will only work for registered users. The cost we calculated was just Rs 1,80,000, which is just Rs 120 per match for the expected 1,500 matches in a year. Similarly, we modeled it for various state associations and the cost was further reduced to just Rs 100 per match. Only the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has signed the MoU and that too for Rs. 65 per game, but they have 4,000 games,” explains Jayadevan.

If the BCCI uses the VJD method for domestic tournaments, what stops them from using it in the IPL as well? It is high time the board clarified the ‘Made in India’ method to support it not only domestically but also internationally.

DLS and VJD:

• The DLS method was formally adopted by the International Cricket Council in 1999.

• The VJD was trialled on the Indian domestic circuit in 2006 before being used regularly from the 2007 season onwards.

• There was talk of trying out VJD in the IPL in 2011, but he never got the necessary approvals.

• ICC continues to use DLS in all international matches