Mumbai: The Indian Premier League is all set to enter its 18th edition on March 22, and with the tournament, several important rule changes can change the dynamics of the tournament. Along with its appointments for new captaincy and increased pay for players, the BCCI’s three big changes will begin this season.
In a historic ruling, the BCCI has removed the saliva ban, which was on during the COVID-19 pandemic. There will be the return of the ability for bowlers to use saliva to shine the ball, which could see the return of swings and reverse swings — a request I have heard from many players, including Mohammed Shami.
So as a countermeasure for the dew factor in night games, there will be a new “second ball” rule. However, the offer from Latest Ball is not applicable. According to this system, after the 11th over of the second innings, the umpires will check whether there is excessive dew or not, and if there is, the bowling team will be allowed to use the second ball with some wear and tear on it.
Additionally, height-based wides will be part of DRS, and umpires will be able to refer wides outside the off-stump to the third umpire. Similar to technology for no-balls in IPL 2024, Hawk-Eye technology and ball tracking will help umpires with these decisions.
In a game-changing move, players will be given a match fee of ₹7.5 lakh per game in addition to their auction contracts. This will especially help the players who were bought in the auction for lower prices of ₹30 lakh or ₹50 lakh.
The season will also feature two players making their captaincy debuts. Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be captained by Rajat Patidar, while Rajasthan Royals will see Riyan Parag captain their first three matches as Sanju Samson recovers from a finger injury.
Other existing rules will remain, including the Impact Player rule, which allows teams to replace one player mid-match. Additionally, teams will no longer ban fielding captains for slow over-rates; instead, they will only lose demerit points.