IPL 2023 new rules: Playing XI, Impact Player to be revealed after toss; penalties for unfair keeper, fielder movement
The IPL is set to become the second T20 tournament after the SA20 to allow teams to announce their elevens after the toss.
Teams will be reportedly allowed to square down and announce teams after the toss in new set of rules that are to be implemented in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The two captains will hence walk in with two different team sheets and will be handing over their final XI after they get to know whether they are about to bat or bowl first, as opposed to exchanging team sheets before the toss, according to ESPNCricinfo.
This would allow teams to pick their best squads based on what they are going to do first, notably allowing them to decide which impact player is to be included. It is further reported that the move has been taken to lessen the impact of the toss and, by extension, the effect of dew, which has often turned out to be heavily influential on results when the IPL was held in the UAE and in India last year.
The IPL is hence set to become the second T20 tournament after the SA20 to allow teams to announce their elevens after the toss. Teams list 13 players on the squad sheet for the SA20, which recently held its maiden season, before declaring their final XI after the toss.
Meanwhile, only four fielders will be allowed outside the 30 yard circle for teams as a penalty for every over not completed in allocated time. Unfair movements of the fielder and the wicketkeeper is also set to be penalised. Both incidents will result in a penalty of five runs and the delivery in which it happened being declared dead.
The 2023 season of the IPL starts on begins on March 31 with champions Gujarat Titans facing four-time winners Chennai Super Kings in the inaugural game. The tournament has returned to the home and away format for the first time since 2019, with the intervening years being affected by Covid-19. While the 2020 season had to be held in a bio-bubble in the UAE, the first half of the 2021 season was held in a few cities before having to be abandoned due to the deadly second wave of the pandemic in India. It was then continued later in the year in the UAE. The 2022 season was then played primarily in Mumbai and Pune after which the first Qualifier and Eliminator were held at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The second Qualifier and the final was then played in Ahmedabad.
