Are on-field umpires really needed?

Are on-field umpires really needed?

Human beings are not perfect but they still need their own breed to drive them through in day to day affairs. The same could be said about sports where players are kept under control from referees and umpires. These personalities have a task of looking after the governance of their respective games, the goodwill among players and much more. Cricket, which is termed as gentlemen's game, are looked after by on-field umpires, who are as old as the game itself. The only thing which has changed over the years is their jerseys. They started from black and white but with the advent of new formats like ODIs and T20s, their attires have also become trendy. Sometimes they are seen in red and black while all black has also become the order of the day at times.

The umpires have been an integral part of the game with expectations of impartial decision for both the teams. Earlier, the umpires were usually from home teams and everyone knew about the quality of their decision making power. The results were in favor of the team or the board who issued their pay checks in the end. Hence the idea of introducing neutral umpires came to mind. The two wise men who were not part of the two teams were given the responsibility of calling the shots in the game. It started in Test cricket at the first instance but after a short passage of time, the idea was also moved to ODIs and T20. However, the shorter formats still enjoy the luxury of appointing one home umpire in each game. The Men in Black have to determine certain dismissals during the course of a game. The caught behind instances, leg before wicket, run-outs, and stumpings are decided by the on-field umpires firstly but they go for the third umpire verdict if required. 

Apart from this, the overstepping of a bowler, the field restrictions and the discipline are other areas which are closely monitored by the umpires. However, the introduction of TV umpire has made the role of the on-field umpires much easier in recent times since they can go for referrals at any given point of time. This was added to the game in order to minimize the wrong decisions but boy it has affected the qualities of on-field umpires. Now they rely too much on TV replays and are unable to take even the easiest of calls. It has become a fashion to seek an opinion of the third umpire even in case of the easiest run-outs and stumpings. If a wicket falls, the umpires have developed a tendency of checking it for a no ball while clear no balls are being missed on a regular basis. In that case, are umpires really needed? Cricket is not a very fast pace game so even if technology is used in each and every call, it won’t slow down the game. From the time an appeal is made and the bowler goes back to his run-up, the third umpire has enough time to declare his verdict. The technology equipped umpire can take his time and make a decision once he is totally convinced. The fielding teams will not be able to intimidate him as he sits in the air conditioned room and not in the field. I know on-field umpires are integral part of the game and not seeing them standing in the field will be odd but this sports does need a change if the administrators are interested in resolving howlers.