Dew has played a huge factor in evening matches during the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team batting second in such matches has always benefited heavily as ball comes on to the bat nicely. However, this rule will offer a level-playing field for the teams.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has changed a massive rule to counter the dew factor in the evening matches during the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The BCCI has introduced use of a second ball for the second innings of a match. The board explained the new rules during the meeting of the captains and managers at the Cricket Centre in Mumbai on Thursday (March 20).
The second ball will come into play after the 11th over of the innings. The primary objective of introducing the second ball is to reduce the impact of dew which plays a massive role in the night matches. However, this rule will only be implemented in the evening matches and not in the afternoon matches which start at 3:30 PM IST.
At the same time, the ball won’t be changed blindly as the decision has been left at the discretion of the umpires depending on the amount of dew that is at the venue. “It’s up to the umpires to determine whether the ball needs to be changed. They will decide based on the presence of dew,” the source explained according to Cricbuzz.
Meanwhile, it has been decided that the impact player rule will stay for the upcoming season as well. However, as reported widely earlier today, the ban on saliva has been lifted after all the captains agreed to do it. The saliva use was restricted during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to mitigate the spread of the virus. However, there were increasing calls to lift these restrictions recently with Indian pace bowler Mohammed Shami advocating for the same recently in the Champions Trophy.
“We always keep requesting the authorities to allow us to use saliva so that swing and reverse comes into play during matches,” he had said.
