The Great Game Called Cricket...

Spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan is not known for his comments off the field, but it looks like Lanka's huge losses against India have hit the players hard.

Muralitharan on Sunday held the umpires in the Test matches responsible for Lanka's loss and rued the fact that the Decision Review System (DRS) was not put to use during the series. In fact, Murali stated that the Review System should be made mandatory for all games in all countries.

Murali's outburst comes after Tillakaratne Dilshan was unfairly given out in both the innings of the second Test at the Bradbourne stadium in Mumbai. According to Murali there were a few more umpiring decisions which went against the Lankans. "We are unfortunate with our batting. Dilshan couldn't capitalise on day one. Those are things that mattered at the end of a Test. The ICC should open its eyes and just put the referral system in place for all the games," Muralitharan was quoted as saying by The Nation.

"Had referral system been there, we could have been in a better position. I don't know how many decisions went against us I didn't count but there were many occasions we have been unlucky. Everything went against us," said Muralitharan.

The Decision Review System is being implemented in all of the ongoing Test matches across the world, including the West Indies vs Australia series as well as the New Zealand vs Pakistan series. Only in India the DRS has not been implemented in spite of the ICC okaying it. "We endorse the referral system because the pressure is off the umpires. At the moment the pressure is more on the umpires and if they make a mistake everyone will complain. The referral system in the future is a must. In two other Test series happening in Australia and New Zealand it is on but it's not happening here. It's unfortunate for us," said the 37-year-old spinner.

Earlier West Indies' Chris Gayle ridiculed the ICC and called the Decision Review System a 'huge shame', "In my opinion, it is a huge shame that the video referral system is being used for the remainder of the Test series because I’m just not a fan of it," Gayle wrote in ‘Courier Mail’. "The new technology they have put in place still makes mistakes. I also don’t agree with the decision-making process. If there is a line-ball decision on the video review, they send it back to the standing umpire to make a decision."