“Bonus points is an incentive” - Former India opener’s interesting suggestion for IPL 2025

Former India opener Aakash Chopra has urged the Indian Premier League (IPL) to have bonus points for victories by a huge margin for the upcoming season, starting March 22. Several T20 leagues follow the bonus point system for victories by predetermined margins as an incentive for dominant teams.

The rule could also play a massive role in the event of two or more teams having an equal number of wins on the points table. The Net Run Rate (NRR) method has been in operation as the tie-breaker in the IPL.

Taking to his X account, Chopra made the suggestion of having a bonus point system in the IPL.

"I have a suggestion for the #TataIPL this season. Have a bonus point if the margin of victory exceeds a certain threshold. While NRR is a proven way to know who’s done better over a period of time, the exact advantage doesn’t register till very late. Bonus points is an incentive that tangible…immediate and tbh, effective too. Kya bolti public??," Chopra wrote.

Australia's Big Bash League (BBL), arguably the second most popular T20 league behind the IPL, sported a Bash Boost rule which was removed before the 2023-24 season. The rule awarded an extra point to the team ahead after 10 overs of their respective innings.

IPL announce the full schedule for the 2025 season

The IPL announced the complete fixtures list with the venues and dates for the upcoming 2025 season on Sunday, February 16. The tournament begins with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) taking on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Kolkata on March 22.

The following day will see the IPL 2025's first double-header, with the night match witnessing arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) playing each other in Chennai.

The 10 teams are divided into two groups (as has been the case since 2022), with Group A featuring CSK, KKR, RCB, PBKS, and RR, while Group B consists of MI, LSG, DC, GT, and SRH. A team will play the other four teams from their group and one team from the opposite group twice, while they will play the other four teams from the opposite group once to constitute their 14 matches.

The Playoffs will be played in Hyderabad (Qualifier 1 and Eliminator) and Kolkata (Qualifier 2) from May 20 to 23, with the grand finale set to be played in Kolkata on May 25.

KKR are the defending champions, having beaten SRH in the summit clash last year.