The Indian Premier League (IPL) turned 18, as the 2025 season got off the mark on March 22. And the BCCI decided to give some relaxation to the teams.
The Indian board has introduced a few new regulations, which have made things a bit easier for teams.
So here are the six new rules introduced in the IPL 2025 season.
Saliva Ban Lifted
In a major boost for bowling, the BCCI revoked the saliva ban. Now, players can apply saliva on the ball to shine it. This will help bowlers extract some movement.
The saliva ban was in place after the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020. But with the pandemic behind us, the rule has been reversed, at least for the IPL.
Ball Replacement
The teams will have the liberty to replace a wet ball in an innings. But it will be only applicable in the second innings of the evening matches.
Balls can wet due to the presence of dew in the evening encounters, especially in the second innings. A wet ball might be hard to grip for bowlers.
So the bowling captain can request a ball replacement after the 10th over of the second innings. The umpires will then pick a new ball with similar wear and tear.
The umpires, though, can replace the ball anytime during the match if the ball is wet, out of shape, lost, or damaged.
Player Replacement
Injuries and player pullouts are quite inevitable in the IPL. And to counter this, teams can make player replacements before the 12th match of the IPL 2025 season.
But they can only pick replacements from the Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP). The RAPP consists of unsold players who were part of the IPL 2025 Auction pool.
No Captain Ban for Slow Over Rate
The IPL mandates bowling teams to start their 20th over within the allocated 90 minutes. But on many occasions, teams fail to adhere to the over-rate guidelines.
Thus, in the past, the captains of the bowling sides used to face the heat as the match referee handed a match ban to them for repeated offences. But that won’t be the case anymore.
The captain won’t be under immediate threat of a match ban. The referee, instead, will hand a fine (25 to 75 percent of the match fee) along with demerit points for a level 1 offence.
But a serious offence under level 2 will come with four demerit points. The demerit points will remain in place for the next three years. And they might result in a ban as well.
Hawk-Eye to Help with Wide and No-Ball Calls
Technology will come to the rescue of the umpires in IPL 2025. The Hawk-Eye technology, used for ball tracking, will help the third umpire with wide calls.
Since the batters shuffle a lot these days in the crease, the outside off and head-high wide calls become crucial. If the batter moves out of his initial stride, the wide line will also move, which the Hawk-Eye will adjust for reviews. The same will be the case for waist-high no-balls.
Super Over Rule
Once an IPL 2025 match ends in a tie, there’s a provision for Super Overs to decide the winner. However, the BCCI has put a cap on the time allocated for Super Overs.
The Super Overs can happen until an outright winner emerges. But they can go on until one hour after the completion of the main match. The other Super Over rules remain the same.
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