The International Cricket Council (ICC) has brought changes to several rules of the game. The changed rules will come into effect from October 1. The rules have been changed after the Chief Executives Committee (CEC) ratified the recommendations of the Sourav Ganguly-led Men’s Cricket Committee.
According to new rules, the new batter will bat, even when the batsmen change ends and is caught out. As per old rules, the incoming batter was allowed to take the non-striker end if the batters crossed over before the catch was taken.
The ICC has imposed a permanent ban on the use of saliva to polish the ball. This ban was temporarily imposed in international cricket for more than two years due to Covid. A batter coming to bat will now have to be ready to take a strike within two minutes in Tests and ODIs, while the current limit of ninety seconds has been retained in T20 International cricket.
Under the new rule the batter will be allowed to play a shot on the ball outside the pitch. But the batter’s bat or part of his body remains inside the pitch. If he overtakes it, the umpire will call it a dead ball. Any ball on which the batter is forced to leave the pitch and play a shot will be declared a no-ball.
If a player, who is fielding makes a wrong movement, then the ball delivered will be declared a dead ball, and the batter’s shot is cancelled. If this movement is done intentionally by the player, then five runs will be given as a penalty to the batter.
In T20 Internationals in if the fielding team fails to bowl its overs within the stipulated time, an additional fielder is assigned to the fielding circle for the remaining over. This rule will now be adopted in ODIs after the completion of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League in 2023. It was also decided that the conditions of play for all men’s and women’s ODI and T20 matches would be amended so that hybrid pitches could be used if agreed by both teams. Currently, hybrid pitches can only be used in Women’s T20 Internationals.
