Indian Premier League 2023: New IPL Toss, Substitution, DRS Rules Will Challenge Captains And Umpires Alike | OPINION

New Delhi: Cricket is not a simple game. Sure, the basic tenet is to hit the ball as hard as you can, or send the stumps flying a long distance, but the nuances of the sport lie in its rules and those are nowhere near as simple as they are made out to be.

It is only because fans are so totally engrossed with the sport that the rules have become a part of their knowledge bank. But the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 will give players, officials, and fans alike some new teasers. Given the numbers and frequency of matches, the IPL is quite a challenge anyway and the new rules won’t make things any easier.

Conversely, it adds more spice to the mix and the game of chess begins even before the toss.

Since we mentioned the toss, let’s begin there. Now, the team captains will go in with two separate player lists – one if he wins the toss and bats, another if he bowls. This list of 16 (playing XI and five substitutes) will be handed over once the toss is decided.

So now team combination will have to be thought about twice over.

Then comes the use of the impact player. He, as per the rules, will be an Indian player unless the team has gone in with less than their normal quota of four overseas players in the playing XI. Now the captain and coach will have to deliberate how to introduce this player since he can only be injected into the mix at specified times –after the over, or in case of batters, when a player is dismissed or is out due to an injury, any time during the over. He can even be introduced before the inning begins.

The impact player has to come from the five substitutes on the team list handed over at toss time. Further, whether he can be a foreign player or not also depends on certain conditions.

Quite a little teaser for the captain.

As for the umpires, they now will also have to cater for DRS for no-balls and wides if a batter demands so. More work for the TV umpire will also impact the time taken to finish an inning.

As always, there are two sides to any such changes and the same applies here as well. While this will surely pique the interest of the fans, the teams and officials may not necessarily be too chuffed, even though the rules do provide them with more options.

But something new is always welcome. Even T20 can threaten after the point to get tedious and repetitive. The new masala will surely add some sting. What better way to make the whole fare that much more inviting.