The International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to make several changes to the existing laws of cricket, the Crictracker website has revealed.
Such changes are expected to be made to all formats of cricket, including the use of two balls for both ends of an ODI, the ability to challenge umpires’ decisions (DRS) and the rules on substitutions.
An official update on these rule changes is expected soon, and the rules for ODIs and T20s will be valid from July, and the rules for Test matches from the 2025-27 Test World Cup.
Among the rules that are subject to such changes, the rule on using two balls in an ODI has received a lot of attention.
Since 2011, two balls have been used for each end of the bowling in an ODI, but this has caused some obstacles to reverse swing and spin.
As a result, it has been decided to change the rule, and thus two balls will be used until the 34th over of a match, and from the 35th over, only one ball will be used at the discretion of the bowling team. Accordingly, only one ball will be used for bowling in the last 16 overs of the match.
Meanwhile, if a match interrupted by rain is limited to 25 overs or less, only one ball will be used for each innings of that match.
Also, in order to replace a player who is injured during a match, five other players must be nominated before the match as a batsman, a fast bowler, a wicketkeeper, a spinner and an all-rounder. However, the match referee will have the power to name an additional player as a replacement (depending on the situation).
In addition, new rules are to be introduced regarding DRS cases, catches near the boundary and ball stops, Crictracker states.