BCCI announced the new playing conditions regarding the ‘soft signal’ call and short run errors ahead of the 2021 IPL edition.
The on-field Umpire’s soft signal call has been under scrutiny for a while. When Dawid Malan’s catch ended Suryakumar Yadav’s magnificent knock on his debut, there was a massive outrage. It was visible in the replays that Malan had grassed the ball, but since the soft signal was out, the third Umpire felt there wasn’t conclusive evidence to overturn the decision.
Indian Captain Virat Kohli didn’t hold back and expressed his displeasure with the rule and the need to remove the soft signal.
If it hits the stumps or missing the stumps, it should not matter how much the ball is clipping because it is creating a lot of confusion. One more factor that needs to be considered is how the fielding team responds to a dismissal that is claimed. This is somewhere defining the soft signals as well. You have to question what the spirit of the game is and what those guidelines are because if things like that happen with the Indian cricket team overseas then you are talking about the completely different conversation about the spirit of the game,
Kohli said.
So look, it is a serious thing which needs to be considered because there is a lot at stake in bigger tournaments. You do not want any grey area hampering the game and it leaves with you no clarity,
Indian Captain continued.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has addressed the issue, and they have decided to discard soft signals for the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League.
In the updated guidelines for the upcoming IPL season accessed by ANI, BCCI has made clear that the on-field officials would not be allowed to give a soft signal when sending a decision upstairs.
In the updated playing conditions for IPL 2021, Appendix D – Clause 2.2.2 shows the alteration regarding the soft signal usage.
Soft Signal : On-field Umpire giving Soft Signal while referring the decision to the 3rd Umpire will not be applicable,
states the updated playing conditions for IPL 2021.
The change will now give the third Umpire all the power while deciding the outcome of a referred catch without taking the on-field Umpire’s perception into account.
Speaking to ANI, BCCI sources said that the change has been made to avoid any confusion in the decision-making process of the third Umpire.
There have been cases wherein the soft signal has kind of created confusion rather than giving clarity to the third umpire and that is why it was felt that going back to the old method of referring decisions to the third umpire if the on-field umpires are not sure should be followed,
the source said.
Third Umpire can correct ‘Short Run’ errors and ‘No Ball’ calls
BCCI has made a few more important changes in the playing conditions, one of which is the authority to the third Umpire to check if there’s a short run and overturn the on-field decision if necessary.
One of the main reasons for introducing this rule is the huge controversy created by a wrong ‘short run’ call in the match between Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab.
Short run: In the case of the short run, the third umpire checks the short run and can overturn the decision made by the on-field umpires,
states the Clause in the updated playing conditions for IPL 2021.
BCCI introduced a rule before last year’s IPL edition that allowed the TV umpire to monitor every ball to see if it’s a no-ball and decide if the on-field Umpire missed it. In the updated guidelines, now the third Umpire can overturn the no-ball decision given by the on-field Umpire.
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.
Another updated playing condition, the Clause 16.3.1 states that subsequent super overs can be played until an hour from the actual finished time of the tied matches in an uninterrupted game.
