New Rules and Playing Conditions in Indian T20 League 2021
The 14th edition of the Indian T20 League is all set to begin on April 9 with the opener between Bangalore and defending champions Mumbai in Chennai.
New team names and new teammates to new jerseys, the excitement is building up for the T20 extravaganza. Amid all these changes, there are certain rules and playing conditions that have also been changed to make the cash-rich tournament more competitive and to give cricketers and fans the best game experience.
Let us take a look at these 4 changes to rules that have been brought in for the upcoming season.
1. No Soft Signal
There has been a growing debate and controversy surrounding the “soft signal” decision made by the on-field umpire when referring a decision to the third umpire in case of a debatable catch call.
The league’s Governing Council has decided to remove the soft signal so that the third umpire can make the best possible decision without keeping the on-field call in mind.
It means that on-field umpires will not be able to give soft signals while referring decisions to the third umpire in the 2021 edition of the Indian T20 League.
2. No-Ball and Short-Run Rule
A huge controversy emerged in the 2020 edition when a short run in the match between Punjab and Delhi became a huge point of debate. A short run was called wrongly during the match, which Punjab eventually lost in the Super Over.
As per the updated Indian T20 League guidelines, the third umpire can overrule the short-run decisions made by the on-field umpires. It is also applicable for the no-ball decisions made by the on-field umpires.
Now the umpires can take care of these small but important things in a better manner and make the correct decisions so that both sides will get a fair chance in the game.
3. Minimum Over Rate
Another change that has been made is in the minimum over rate system. Previously as per the playing conditions “the 20th over of the innings should start within 90 minutes (85 minutes plus 5 minutes of time-out) of the start of the innings.”
According to the new guidelines, the 20th over is now included in the 90 minutes for the completion of an innings. All overs as well as two strategic time-outs need to be delivered within this duration only.
Now both captains will stay alert of the match timings and sides will not waste time during the game. This will lead to the timely completion of games in the tournament.
4. Cap on Super Overs
In the 2020 edition, a group match between Punjab and Mumbai was decided with not just one but by two Super Overs. It was the first time in the history of the league that a match had gone into a second Super Over, which finished well past its scheduled time.
The Governing Council has now made a change that multiple super overs can be played till an hour from the actual finished time of the tied matches. In case a winner cannot be determined within that time, then the match will be tied and both teams will get one point each.
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