The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved changes to the two-ball rule in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and revised the concussion substitute protocol across all three formats of men’s international cricket.
The new playing conditions, recommended by the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee and endorsed by the Chief Executives Committee, will come into effect on June 17 for Tests, July 2 for ODIs, and July 10 for T20Is. The upcoming Sri Lanka-Bangladesh series will be the first to be played under these updated regulations.
Until now, ODIs have been played with two new balls, one from each end, throughout the innings. This practice has drawn criticism, particularly from bowlers, who argue it favors batters by reducing wear and tear on the ball, especially on flat pitches. Under the new rule, however, some adjustments have been made while retaining the use of two balls at the start.
From the beginning of the innings up to the 34th over, two new balls will still be used—one from each end. But starting from the 35th over, only one ball will be used for the remainder of the innings. The bowling team will choose one of the two balls in use to continue with from overs 35 to 50, meaning only a single ball will be in play during the final 16 overs.
Additionally, if an ODI match is shortened to 25 overs or fewer before the first innings starts, only one new ball will be used for the entire innings.
The ICC said this change is designed to “readdress the balance between bat and ball,” allowing the ball to age more and assist bowlers in the final overs, potentially bringing reverse swing and more wear into play in the 50-over format of the game.
Meanwhile, according to the new concussion protocols approved by the International Cricket Council, teams must now submit a list of five substitute players to the match referee before the start of the match in all international matches.
The ICC has made this change to ensure that if a player suffers a concussion during the game, a like-for-like replacement is readily available and to maintain balance and fairness in the game.
These substitutes must cover all key roles in the team, and they are one wicketkeeper, one specialist batter, one fast bowler, one spin bowler, and one all-rounder.
Well, if a substitute player also gets a concussion and needs to be replaced, the match referee can allow a replacement from outside the original five named substitutes, but must also apply a like-for-like rule.
Earlier this year, India replaced batting all-rounder Shivam Dube with bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana as a concussion substitute during the fourth T20I against England, which sparked controversy.
Now, with teams required to name substitute players for specific roles before the match, such situations can be avoided in the future.
Additionally, the rules for catches near the boundary have been slightly changed. The MCC has now banned the “bunny hop” trick, where a fielder jumps from outside the boundary to complete a clean catch. With this move, the ICC wants to keep the game fair and simple.
