IPL 2023 playoffs: Here's why tree emoticons were used in place of dot balls in CSK vs GT match

CSK vs GT IPL 2023 playoffs Qualifier 1: It was the game night of the Indian Premier League (IPL)’s first playoff match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Gujarat Titans (GT) when fans noticed tree emoticons being displayed on the scoreboard. These tree emoticons appeared every time there was a dot ball, and left many wondering why they are being displayed instead of the dot that symbolises dot balls in an over.

The commentators Simon Doull and Harsha Bhogle revealed the reason behind these tree emoticons while discussing it with each another. They said that the trees were used to symbolise the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s new environmental initiative.

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The CSK made it to their 10th IPL final after thrashing table-topping Gujarat Titans (GT) by 15 runs at the Chepauk Stadium in the first qualifier on Tuesday. Ruturaj Gaikwad (60) and Devon Conway (40) batted first from the CSK side and set a target of 172 runs.

Home team’s skipper MS Dhoni’s bowling choices and sharp field settings skittle out Gujarat for 157 runs. After the Mumbai Indians, Chennai are the team with the most IPLs.

BCCI’s environmental initiative

As per the commentators, BCCI aims to plant 500 trees for each dot ball during the playoff matches as part of their environmental initiative. The implementation of the initiative started with Qualifier 1 between CSK and GT and there are hopes that BCCI will come up with more such initiatives to promote a healthy and sustainable future.

At the first playoff match, Mohammed Shami became the first bowler to bowl a dot ball after the start of the initiative while Ruturaj Gaikwad was the batter who faced that dot ball.

Previously in 2020, BCCI joined hands with other organisers of the IPL to turn the league into one of the greenest and most environmentally sustainable tournaments in the world.

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The board entered into a partnership with the United Nations in 2020 for its environmental initiatives. The agreement affords the Indian board funds and resources to implement ‘greening operations’ across various venues used for the tournament.

Talking about the partnership, the then BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary said in 2020, “This is a major step in spreading the message of environmental conservation. We will help make cricket green and sensitise spectators towards minimising waste generation during matches.”

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This year as well, all the franchises were seen promoting awareness about various important issues. RCB have over the years donned green jerseys for one game in each season to increase awareness about environmental protection.

Also, Gujarat Titans donned lavender colour jerseys for cancer protection and Delhi Capitals used a different jersey to promote awareness about LGBTQIA+ rights this season.

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