All ten IPL captains will now be exempted from any ban over their respective teams' slow over-rate offences from the impending season onwards as BCCI revised playing conditions. Under the new rule, they shall be penalised with demerit points, with the ban being enforced only in dire cases.

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The BCCI and the IPL governing council informed all the ten captains and teams’ think tanks about the new rule change during the mandatory pre-season meeting in Mumbai on Thursday (Mar 20) afternoon. Instead, the new rule, similar to a system introduced by the ICC earlier, will see BCCI slapping demerit points to the captains based on the offence’s severity, to be carried over for the next three years.

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“The captain will be penalised with demerit points but will not face a match ban for the slow over-rate,” a source close to the information said in a chat with Cricbuzz. 

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“The Level 1 offence will be charged 25 to 75 per cent match fees with demerit points, which will be calculated for the next three years. 

“A Level 2 offence, if exactly deemed serious, will result in four demerit points.

"For every 4 demerit points accumulated, the match referee can impose a penalty, either in the form of a 100 per cent fine or additional demerit points. These demerit points could potentially lead to a match ban in the future. But for slow overrate, it won't be a match ban (immediately),” the source added.

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Meanwhile, a few captains have suffered the wrath of their team’s slow over-rate offence before, including the former Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant, who missed a crucial game against the RCB last season, with Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya banned from MI’s first game in IPL 2025 due to an over-rate offence the previous season.

Impact Player Rule to stay

In the latest development around the Impact Player rule, the BCCI confirmed this controversial change is here to stay for the season and only be reviewed after the 2027 edition.

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"The IPL will continue to implement the Impact Player rule, allowing teams to substitute one player during a match, at least until 2027," an unnamed source continued.

Besides, the BCCI has also amended the DRS rule usage ahead of IPL 2025. Under revised playing conditions, the bowling team can use the DRS for height wide, the wides outside the off-stump and regarding no balls. These rules are in addition to the BCCI revoking the ban on saliva usage and the second new ball in the second innings of the evening games. 

(With inputs from agencies)