Standing firm against teams taking excessive time in completing their quota of 20 overs, the Board of Control for Cricket in India will be putting them under greater scrutiny through the forthcoming edition of the IPL, beginning April 9.
Revising the playing conditions for the IPL, the BCCI has mandated all teams to complete their 20th over by the 90th minute. Previously in the IPL, teams could start the 20th over as late as the 90th minute of an innings.
As a measure to control the match timings, the 20th over in each innings is now included in 90 minutes, earlier the 20th over was to start on or before the 90th minute,
reads a mail sent to all IPL teams by the BCCI, the details of which were reported by Cricbuzz.
The minimum over rate to be achieved in IPL Matches shall be 14.11 overs per hour (ignoring the time taken by time-outs),” the board stated clearly. “In uninterrupted matches, this means that the 20th over should finish within 90 minutes (being 85 minutes of playing time plus 5 minutes of time-out) of the start of the innings.
For delayed or interrupted matches where an innings is scheduled to be less than 20 overs, the maximum time of 90 minutes shall be reduced by 4 minutes 15 seconds for every over by which the innings is reduced.
With each innings in the IPL already comprising of two strategic time-outs, any compromise on the over-rate can extend a match beyond the acceptable hour limits. That is why the BCCI has tried to fasten things up by emphasizing time consumption by IPL teams on finishing their 20 overs with the ball.
Coming down heavily on teams notoriously used to delay their bowling innings, the BCCI has put a maximum limit of 90 minutes for them to finish their 20-over quota and has also entrusted the fourth umpire to ensure the rule is implemented. The fourth umpire will now be able to warn the batting side if they indulged in any time-wasting tactics during the IPL 2021.
In the event of any time allowances being granted to the fielding team under clause 12.7.3.4 above (time wasting by batting team), then such time shall be deducted from the allowances granted to such batting team in the determination of its over rate. The fourth umpire should ensure that the batting captain (if not at the wicket) and the team manager are both aware of any warnings,
reads the BCCI’s mail sent to all IPL teams.
BCCI abolishes ‘soft signal’ for IPL 2021
The BCCI has also removed the use of the ‘soft signal’ for long-distanced outfield catches for IPL. According to the new playing conditions, the TV umpire will now be carrying no influence of the on-field umpire’s soft signal in his own judgement of a catch taken from a distance and will be using the technology independently.
The on-field umpire giving soft signal while referring the decision to the third umpire will not be applicable,” the BCCI said, adding “should both on-field umpires require assistance from the third umpire to make a decision, the bowler’s end umpire shall firstly take a decision on-field after consulting with the striker’s end umpire, before consulting by two-way radio with the third umpire.
Such consultation shall be initiated by the bowler’s end umpire to the third umpire by making the shape of a TV screen with his/her hands. The third umpire shall determine whether the batsman has been caught, whether the delivery was a bump ball, or if the batsman willfully obstructed the field. In case of a fair catch, the third umpire will use all the technological support available to him/her. The third umpire shall communicate his/her decision.
India captain Virat Kohli had raised concerns regarding the use of the ‘soft signal’ after the recent controversy involving batsman Suryakumar Yadav and England fieldsman Dawid Malan during the T20I series in Ahmedabad. The BCCI’s stance on the matter seems a follow up to the words of the biggest name in Indian cricket currently.
Part of the existing Decision Review System (DRS) process, the ‘umpire’s call’ had also fallen under Kohli’s scanner. The skipper, who termed it one of cricket’s “grey areas” and sought clarity and consistency on it, had basically wanted it to be removed from the DRS process and urged anything that hits the stumps in the line on the projected path to be given out. The BCCI, however, is slightly more lenient on the issue and will be sticking with the ‘umpire’s call’ for IPL 2021.
Umpire’s Call is the concept within the DRS under which the on-field decision of the bowler’s end umpire shall stand, which shall apply under the specific circumstances where the ball-tracking technology indicates a marginal decision in respect of either the Impact Zone or the Wicket Zone (sic),
the board said.
The BCCI has also tweaked the rule on calling the ‘short-run’ for IPL 2021. The board has authorised and empowered the third umpire to overrule the on-field umpire’s decision on cutting down a run off the batting team’s total. A match between Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) and Delhi Capitals (DC) in the earlier part of IPL 2020 in UAE had become infamous for an umpiring error with regards to the ‘short-run’. In a tightly contested match, a wrong short-run call by the square leg umpire cost Punjab a run and they went on to lose the fixture in the super-over.
The BCCI confirmed that all the changes to the playing conditions for IPL 2021 will be applicable from April 1. Eight days later, defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Chennai in the opening game of the tournament.
