New Rules for IPL 2025: The 18th edition of the IPL will kick off on March 22, with the final slated for May 25. Defending champions KKR, who will be playing under new skipper Ajinkya Rahane, will open the tournament on Saturday by hosting RCB, led by first-time captain Rajat Patidar, at the Eden Gardens.
As many as five teams have new captains this season after all teams underwent a significant overhaul at the IPL 2025 mega auction.
With just a couple of days to go for the start of the IPL 2025, a few new rules and amendments to the previous ones have been decided and agreed upon by the BCCI.
There are a few interesting rule changes that the board has made ahead of the upcoming season. Let’s check them out.
4 New Rules for IPL 2025
Saliva ban removed
A happy news for the bowlers has been the revoking of the saliva ban. Players can now use saliva to shine the ball, and that could aid in reverse swing as the ball gets older. The decision was made by the BCCI after the captains’ meeting on Thursday.
The ban on saliva to polish the ball was first put in place by the ICC in May 2020, when cricket resumed in the pandemic era. Then, other boards and leagues followed the rule. Now, the BCCI has removed the saliva ban for IPL 2025.
A second new ball can be used in the second innings of the match to counter dew effect
This is a very interesting rule that the board has reportedly introduced. According to Cricbuzz, the BCCI has introduced a new rule of a second ball for the second innings of a match as a measure to counter dew in night games. The second new ball will come into effect from the 11th over of the second innings.
This effectively offsets the advantage the captain winning the toss may have in evening matches. But, for the change of the ball, the BCCI has left the decision to the umpire’s discretion.
“It’s up to the umpires to determine whether the ball needs to be changed. They will decide based on the presence of dew,” a source told Cricbuzz.
Relaxation on the rule of match ban on captain for slow over rate
The BCCI also amended its rule regarding the banning of the captain for one game for slow-over rate offenses in three matches.
Last season, Rishabh Pant missed one match after his side, Delhi Capitals, were found guilty of slow over rate in three games, while Hardik Pandya, the MI captain, will miss his team’s first match this season, against CSK, because his third over rate offense in IPL 2024 was in MI’s last league game.
Now, the captains will be handed demerit points, with a ban being enforced only in extreme cases. These demerit points will carry over for a period of three years.
“Demerit points could potentially lead to a match ban in the future. But for slow overrate, it won’t be a match ban (immediately),” a source told Cricbuzz.
Modification in DRS
Further, it has been reported that the BCCI amended the DRS rule as well. The referral will be applicable for the height wides and wides outside the off-stump.
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