Concussion substitutes, all-stars game to be new additions to IPL 2020

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Monday (January 27) announced that there will be no changes in the timings for night matches in the upcoming 13^th edition of the Indian Premier League and will follow the usual start time of 8 PM IST.

“There will be no change in the timing of IPL night games. It will start from 8 pm like earlier years,” Ganguly told reporters after the IPL Governing Council meeting.

The title clash of the coveted Indian tournament will be held in Mumbai on May 24 with a reduced number of double head games.

“We will have only five doubleheaders (4 pm and 8 pm) this time. We have decided to reduce the number of doubleheaders,” Ganguly said while revealing the schedule for the finale.

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In a first, concussion substitute and ‘third umpire no ball’ will also be introduced in the popular T20 league, the former India captain informed.

In a bid to ensure players’ safety with regards to the growing incidents of cricketers getting injured while batting, Ganguly said, “The concussion substitute and the no ball rule are new additions for the season.”

The new rules for having a concussion substitute, which were included in Test cricket last year, will also be a part of this year’s IPL.

After being trialled during the recently concluded India and West Indies ODI series, the ‘no ball’ call which was earlier taken by the on-field umpires will now be the third umpire’s decision.

In a noble gesture, the BCCI will have an ‘All Stars Game’ between all top international players before the start of the IPL on March 29 for a charitable cause.

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The venue for the game, though, has not been decided as yet. Ganguly said the BCCI will hand over the proceeds to an appropriate forum.

“It will be an IPL All Stars Game three days before the start of IPL. The venue is not Ahmedabad as it is still not match ready. We have not decided on where we will make the donation,” the BCCI president said.

Elaborating on the meeting with National Cricket Academy chief Rahul Dravid, Ganguly said that extensive discussions were carried out for revamping the facility, which was under the scanner of late.

“As it has already been reported, we will have a nutritionist and biomechanics bowling coach at the NCA,” he added.