The 15th edition of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) is just around the corner and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has now reportedly made few major changes in rule for the upcoming season of the lucrative tournament.
As per reports, in the scenario when a side wouldn’t be able to field the required number of players with majority of the team hit by Covid-19, the Indian board will try to reschedule the match and if that is not possible – the matter will be referred to the Technical Committee, which will take the final call.
A BCCI communique on Monday (March 14) said: “Unable to field a team on account of COVID for any match due to having less than 12 players available in the playing XI (of which at least 7 must be Indian) plus 1 substitute fielder.”
“The BCCI, at its discretion, will attempt to reschedule the match for later in the season. If this is not possible, the issue will be referred to the IPL Technical Committee. The decision of the IPL Technical Committee will be final and binding,” it added.
Notably, this is a shift from the previous rule which stated that the BCCI “will attempt to reschedule the match for later in the season. If this is not possible, the franchise will be deemed to have lost the match with its opponent being awarded 2 points.”
Further, the second change of rule is that multiple Decision Review System (DRS) will now be in place in order to cut down on wrong decisions.
“In each innings, the number of reviews have been increased from one to two,” the BCCI said and endorsed the recent Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) suggestion that the new batter will have to take the strike even if the batsmen in the middle crossover during a catch.
“Upon a catch dismissal, irrespective of whether the batsmen have crossed or not the incoming batsman will take the strike, except if it’s the last ball of the over,” the BCCI informed the teams.
Notably, the upcoming IPL season will begin on March 26 and will be played in a bio-secure environment at a single hub to avoid air travel, considered as a major threat for the spread of COVID-19 infection, thereby affecting the players and tournament.
While 55 matches are scheduled to be held in Mumbai, the remaining 15 games will be staged in Pune while the playoffs’ venues haven’t been decided yet. Is most likley that the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad will stage the playoffs however, no official announcement has been made yet.
In the upcoming season, the 10 teams have been divided into two groups. While Group A comprises of Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants, Group B includes Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans.
From this year onwards, the lucrative league will be a ten-team affair following the addition of the two new teams – Ahmedabad and Lucknow and will have a total of 74 games.