The Spidercam is set to make its debut in Test matches in India during the New Zealand series starting on Thursday. Indian skipper Virat Kohli welcomed the use of the camera, which can give television viewers a bird's eye view of the action as well as close-ups, in the five-day format but said it should not be at the cost of boundaries and sixes, as it has happened on numerous occasions in the past. The Spidercam, which is suspended from cables, pulleys and wires attached to the roof of the stadium, is extensively used in the shorter formats of the game, especially franchise cricket, but is set to be introduced for the first time in a Test match in India.
Kohli acknowledged the manner in which the Spidercam gives the viewer an interactive experience but was not in favour of technology interrupting the game. “It’s something which has been added for the entertainment of the people. People to get [a] different view and perspective about the game, how the game is seen or looked at from different positions from the ground. That’s one thing which is achieved through the Spidercam. Everything you do or introduce, will have flaws and those need to be corrected and make sure that Spidercam doesn’t come into the guidelines of the game, or becomes too interactive and starts interrupting the field of play. That’s not logical,” he said.
Kohli has not had the rub of the green with the Spidercam in the past. During the fifth One-Day International between India and Australia earlier in the year in Sydney, the 27-year-old's upper-cut off John Hastings, which looked certain to be going to the fence, was signaled as a dead ball after the ball hit the Spidercam and changed its trajectory. There have also been incidents when fielders lost track of the ball because of the camera just as they positioned themselves to take a catch.
“It obviously distracts you when you are fielding, batting you are not focused on all those things," said Kohli. "[The] ball hitting the Spidercam is [a] freak incident. We have seen that before and it can happen again. The balls have been given dead balls, which could have been fours and sixes," he added.
Kohli also went on to talk about the long-term consequences the decisions can have, and that it could alter the context of the game. He said, “It can change the whole game, you might not be able to hit those fours and sixes again. If it doesn’t come into the field of play, it’s fine. As long as it doesn’t stop the cricket.”
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