The Indian Premier League is set to begin from April 9, 2021. The first match of the competition will be played between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Board of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI) has framed two new rules in this edition of IPL. The board has decided to frame stricter rules to cap the time taken to finish one innings in IPL. The revised playing conditions say that the 20 overs of one innings must be completed in 90 minutes. Earlier, the 20th over was supposed to start by the 90th minute.
The BCCI mailed the IPL teams regarding the new rules. This mail was accessed by Cricbuzz.com, BCCI elaborated on the point about 90 minutes and wrote: "The minimum over rate to be achieved in IPL Matches shall be 14.11 overs per hour (ignoring the time taken by time-outs). 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."
NO ‘Soft Signal’ In IPL 2021:
The much talked about ‘Soft-signal’ rule which came into international cricket recently has been under fire after a few controversial decisions in the recently concluded India vs England series. Virat Kohli even suggested publicly that the ICC should consider having a ‘Don’t Know’ signal. These claims were rubbished by the ICC. But the BCCI has decided to play the IPL 2021 without applying this new rule. "The on-field umpire giving soft signal while referring the decision to the third umpire will not be applicable," the BCCI said.
Elaborating more on the point, BCCI wrote: “"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."
There's also one minor rule-change. It will allow the third-umpire to overturn a decision if a batsman is a run short. This rule comes amid a controversial decision between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals.
The ‘Umpires Call’ rule which is infused in the DRS system will stand in the IPL. These changed rules will be applicable from 1 April, 2021.