IPL 6: Suggesting 5 interesting rule changes

5 foreign players anyone?

We have reached the business end of the sixth season of IPL. The roller coaster journey will culminate on May 26th, 2013 before the carnival undergoes a major overhaul. The next season might witness new teams. However, the certain overhaul will be the major reshuffling of players from one franchise to other. The player reshuffling might shift the power from the current giants to form new giants. Thus, the auction becomes the most important aspect of IPL.

The game is going to change next year. Why not tweak a few rules to make the game more interesting? IPL is an autonomous body and should experiment with rules to bring something new to the game. Here, I suggest 5 tweaks which add might add spice to the game:

1. Make a provision for a 5th overseas player in the playing XI. However, the 5th overseas player must be an uncapped player, who is yet to make his international debut in any form of the game. Thus, the 5th overseas player picked must be a domestic circuit player.

2. T20s give bowlers a hard time. Very few bowlers are able to find perfect rhythm and bowl immaculate spells. Bowling out your best bowler early in the innings results in extra runs being leaked in the dying overs of the game. Many chases end in favour of the chasing side as the defending team runs out of bowling options. IPL must permit each team to use one bowler for a quota of 5 overs. Declaring who would bowl 5 overs during the toss time might add more spice in the tale.

3. Each team must find its core – 4 players who can play all matches in the tournament. For the remaining 7 players, a cap of 13 matches per player must be placed. This will test the resourcefulness of the captain and will permit maximum use of the bench. However, if the player is the Orange or Purple Cap holder at the end of his 13th match, he earns an extra match.

4. Net run-rate is a useful way to decide the points-table position for teams tied on same points. However, net run-rate should only be used to decide on the qualifying teams. If two teams are tied on the 2nd and 3rd spot with same points, net run-rate should not come into play. The result of their previous encounters in the tournament should be considered. If the teams even-out, their performance against the table toppers must be taken into account.

In such a case, the performance of a strong team against another strong team takes preference over the overall performance against comparatively weaker teams. However, in case of another tie, NRR should be used.

5. The captain must be from India. It is time for some succession planning. The next ODI World Cup is not far away. Given Dhoni’s unpredictable nature, he might call it stumps after the World Cup. Thus, it is time to try out a few new captains.

These rules are suggestive. I hope that if implemented, they add value to the game.