Cricket

DRS is the lotus in the mud of Sri Lanka Cricket that has now become the laughing stock of the entire Cricket World after its disgraceful 3 Nil defeat to England in the recent T 20 Tournament. Yet neither the SLC nor the Govt. of Sri Lanka is interested in supporting the just claim of a Sri Lankan for international recognition of the Player – Referral concept (DRS) as a Sri Lankan invention.

Sri Lanka suffered a

3-0 whitewash at the hands of England in their recently concluded T20I series in February 2026. The final match on February 3, 2026, saw Sri Lanka capitulate from a position of strength, collapsing from 62-2 to 116 all out while chasing a modest target of 129. 

Regarding the Decision Review System (DRS), it remains an uncredited contribution in the official records of the International Cricket Council (ICC), despite the concept of the “Player-Referral” system being first published by Sri Lankan lawyer Senaka Weeraratna in March 1997. 

England tour of Sri Lanka (T20I Series, 2026)

Match	Date	Venue	Result	Key Performers
1st T20I	Jan 30, 2026	Pallekele	England won by 11 runs (DLS)	Sam Curran (Hat-trick), Adil Rashid (3/19)
2nd T20I	Feb 1, 2026	Pallekele	England won by 6 wickets (DLS)	Tom Banton (54*), Harry Brook (36 off 12)
3rd T20I	Feb 3, 2026	Pallekele	England won by 12 runs	Jacob Bethell (4/11), Dushmantha Chameera (5/24)

The Struggle for DRS Recognition

The “Player-Referral” concept, which allows teams to challenge on-field decisions, is widely attributed to Senaka Weeraratna’s 1997 letter to The Australian. 

• Official Inaction: Despite the system being tested during an India-Sri Lanka Test in 2008, the ICC has never formally credited Weeraratna, unlike the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method which bears its inventors’ names.
• Government Support: While individual advocates and some legal teams have pressed for recognition, critics frequently point out a lack of sustained diplomatic or institutional pressure from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Sri Lankan Government to secure the intellectual property rights or international credit for the invention.
• Current Status: As of early 2026, the system continues to be used globally without an official inventor’s name attached. Advocates continue to lobby for the name to be changed to “Weeraratna Decision Review System” (WDRS) to honor its Sri Lankan roots. 

https://share.google/aimode/VJkRhCswCeFBMwLK6

Talk about BAD too EMBARRASSING… SRI LANKA CRICKET the absolute joke of a team of a once great team that were world champions twice

Completely out played and whitewashed without excelling in a single game. Sri Lanka Cricket keeps getting worse each passing year. The ‘A’ Team lost to Oman earlier in the day too.. LOL.

2nd T20I couldn’t defend 11+ runs an over for less than 10 overs. Not a single batter scored a 50. In today’s game they couldn’t chase down 129 which was helped by a responsible 50 by Sam Curran. None of our batters set out to play responsibly and sensibly when called for. For a country that dominates spin from school level we’ve managed to produce a team that is terrible against spin losing 9 wickets to spinners today. Even against a country that produces more seam friendly bowlers England spinners completely outplayed our spinners this entire series. England spinners picked up 17 wickets whereas Sri Lankan spinners only picked up 3 in all the T20Is which is very worrying considering it was a home series and we are about to start off the T20 World cup games where we face most games on home pitches. We may just lose a game against the minnow side (Zimbabwe have already beaten us a few times and won 2 of the last 5 even beating us once in Sri Lanka 2 years ago with many of the same players still in the team). We are that bad.

Even in the ODIs the spinners were out played picking up 13 when England spinners picked up 18 and they dominated in all but one game.

r/srilanka • 5d ago

QueasyCity2788

DRS ( Player Referral system ) is a Sri Lankan invention

This Sri Lankan invention is now being used not only in Cricket but also in Rugger, Soccer ( Goal Line Technology), Tennis, and Badminton. The lack of recognition for this global scale invention by a Sri Lankan, even within Sri Lanka ( by the Government of Sri Lanka, SLC, Sri Lankan cricket commentators, Media and even by professional organizations ) by a Sri Lankan boils down to one major reason ‘ Eershiyava’  ‘ (Jealousy) which the reputed political analyst Shenali Waduge has explored in depth in a devastating  “no-holds-barred” article. 

Is “Eershiyawa” (Jealousy) blocking Senaka Weeraratna and Sri Lanka from gaining credit for the invention of DRS?

‘ Eershiyava’  ‘ (Jealousy) is the bane of Sri Lanka. It is a pathological condition that has afflicted almost the entire nation and the people. No progress is possible unless and until this evil mindset is vanquished. Education at all levels of schooling should be directed towards this end. Look at India.   The Indian Inventor of the Email V.A. Shiva Aiyyadurai, an Indian Hindu was honored recently by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi despite the entire racist Western press ignoring it. 

Why is it hard to honor non-white inventors? Acknowledging Hindu Indian V A Shiva Ayyadurai – the Inventor of email

Why is it hard to honor non-white inventors? Acknowledging Hindu Indian V A Shiva Ayyadurai – the Inventor of email

Regarding the invention of the Decision Review System (DRS), evidence supports the claim that the core “Player-Referral” concept is a Sri Lankan invention by lawyer Senaka Weeraratna. 

• The Invention: Senaka Weeraratna first proposed the “Player Referral” system in a letter to The Australian newspaper on March 25, 1997, suggesting that a “dissatisfied captain of a team to appeal against a ground umpire’s decision, to the third umpire”.
• The Claim for Recognition: For over two decades, Weeraratna has campaigned for international recognition of his invention, which was later adopted by the ICC in 2008 and formalized as the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS/DRS).
• Support for the Claim: While the ICC has not officially credited Weeraratna, his claim has been supported by various, including former SLC Vice President Asanga Seneviratne and various publications noting the lack of recognition for the Sri Lankan contribution.
• SLC’s Role: While some officials have supported the claim, there has been a longstanding feeling among cricket lovers that the SLC and the government have not adequately championed this as a national, home-grown achievement. 

see

Lorenz Pereira’s article in the Sunday Island ( March 02, 2025)