Bails "redundant" and should be scrapped, says Sanjay Manjrekar after IPL incident

David Warner was the latest batsman to secure a reprieve despite the ball striking his wicket, after the bails failed to fall during this week's clash between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals

The Cricketer | 12/05/2022 at 09:36

A leading Indian commentator has again called for bails to be scrapped after an incident in the IPL.

Sanjay Manjrekar, the former India international who is now a high-profile figure in the media, has called bails "redundant" following the widespread introduction of LED stumps in limited-overs cricket worldwide.

And, after David Warner was the latest batsman to secure a reprieve despite the ball striking his wicket, after the bails failed to fall during this week's clash between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals, he has said it is time they were scrapped.

Warner was outdone by Yuzvendra Chahal's leg-spinner but, despite hitting the outside of leg stump, he survived.

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^{David Warner reacts to his lucky reprieve against Rajasthan Royals [screengrab/IPL]}

"It's redundant now with the LED stumps to have the bails on," Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo's T20 TimeOut.

"Today it would've been a wicket deserving for Chahal who bowled superbly. It was a terrible shot from Warner, and it didn't get a wicket.

"Unless it's adding an aesthetic value, they should just get rid of the bails because they're completely redundant with LED technology."

The Laws of cricket dictate that at least one bail needs to fall for the wicket to be considered broken.

In recent years, the Zing bails used in many international and franchise limited-overs tournaments have come under scrutiny for appearing to be tougher to dislodge, despite weighing no more than a traditional set of wooden, heavy bails used in windy conditions.

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^{Warner was bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal, but neither bail fell [screengrab/BCCI]}

During the 2019 World Cup, five instances of a ball hitting the stumps without a bail falling occurred in the first fortnight of the competition.

Manjrekar says it is time for the game to move in line with technology.

"[The bails were used] just to be sure the ball has hit the stumps they had these bails on top, because if the ball just kissed the stumps you won't know if there weren't any bails," he said.

"And the bails were meant to fall off if the stumps were disturbed. But now that you have a sensor, you know the ball has hit the stumps, so why are the bails there?"