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There are four rules that have been brought in before the opening clash in IPL 2025. These rules would have a major impact on the tournament. There were talks that the Impact Player rule was going to be scrapped, however, the BCCI has decided to continue with the rule. The previous season saw teams like the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders break multiple batting records thanks to the extra batting depth because of the impact player rule. To balance the contest between bat and ball, the BCCI has brought in some rules ahead of the 18th season of the marquee tournament.
The Covid pandemic in 2020 not only shook the entire world but also brought about a set of changes in the world of cricket. The use of saliva by bowlers or usually the fielders positioned at mid-on and mid-off was a pretty normal occurrence. However, in order to prevent the spread of the viral disease use of saliva was banned.
While the world returned to normalcy cricket players were still asked not to spit on the ball. This change in ruling helped in the invention of new methods to shine the ball as players used their sweat from the chest, back, or even bald heads of the players.
Meanwhile, the BCCI has allowed the use of saliva to shine the balls again. This move will help the bowlers to make sure that they can swing the balls for a longer period of time.
Dew in the grounds has been an enemy of the bowlers, especially in the shortest format. In T20 cricket, with the batters already going extra hard, dew would make life extra tough for the bowlers.
In order to combat this extra advantage to the batters, the BCCI has announced a new rule. In games where there is a significant amount of dew in the second innings, the bowlers have the option to ask for a new one after the completion of the 11th over.
The final decision to allow the second new ball lies solely with the on-field umpires. However, with the approval to use saliva on the balls, the bowlers or the fielders could just spit a lot on the ball to make it wet.
Slow over-rate has been a topic of discussion across the three international formats. T20 cricket as a format was brought to have games where results could be achieved in a shorter duration. However, even with a game having a maximum of 40 overs a match often stretches for more than three and a half hours.
A game in the IPL begins at 7:30 PM IST and should ideally end at 11 PM, however, it often stretches till midnight as well. Captains take a long time to set their fields and discuss bowling plans with their players.
In the previous season the captains who were multiple offenders of maintaining a slow over rate served bans as well. Hardik Pandya owing to maintaining a slow over-rate multiple times was banned from Mumbai Indians’ first game in the upcoming season. However, from IPL 2025, the captains will only be penalized in terms of match fees. The BCCI has announced that no captain would be banned for maintaining slow over rates.
A T20 match is a game of small margins and even a wide call could influence the result. In such cases, wide calls made by the on-field umpires can come under a lot of scrutiny. The umpires have a mere few seconds to make the call and it is only natural for them to make a few mistakes.
Players can now opt for DRS for off-side and height wides. This decision will allow the batters or the bowlers to review the decision if they feel they have been wronged by the umpire. The umpires will use Hawk-eye technology to make more accurate decisions.
However, while making a DRS appeal for a wide, players would need to keep in mind how costly a wrong appeal could be. A DRS is not only used in reversing wide calls but can also be used to reverse dismissal decisions. Therefore, the risk while making a DRS for wide is too high while there is too little to gain.
The BCCI has announced a time limit for super overs to ensure that an IPL game ends at a reasonable time. The BCCI informed the captains of all the 10 franchises that there could be an infinite number of super-overs, but they should be played within one hour.
The Board believes that an hour would allow multiple super-overs, which would help determine the winner of the tie. In case scores are tied at the end of the two innings a super over would be played. Reportedly the first super over must begin within 10 minutes of the final ball of the second innings.
In case the first super over also ends up in a tie a subsequent super over would be played. The process will continue until a winner is determined. The second super-over would begin five minutes after the first super-over. The moment the two umpires feel that the one-hour mark would be breached they will inform the two captains before the final super over begins.
The captains and their teams are also allowed to make one unsuccessful use of the DRS during the super overs.
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