The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has come up with the concept of Power Player in the next edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) league. This will allow each team to substitute a player at the fall of a wicket or the end of an over at any point in the game.
One of the senior BCCI officials said that this concept would be taken up once it is discussed with the IPL Governing Council at the meeting, which is set to take place on Tuesday at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.
BCCI officials said, “We are looking at a scenario where a team will not name the Playing XI. They will announce the 15 and a player can be substituted at either the fall of a wicket or at the end of the over at any point in the game. While we are looking to introduce it in the IPL, trying the concept first in the upcoming Mushtaq Ali Trophy could be the ideal way forward.”
The BCCI official further explained how the idea will impact the game. He said that the concept was to make cricketers think out-of-the-box.
The BCCI official added, “Imagine you need 20 runs off the last six balls and you have Andre Russell sitting in the dug-out as he wasn’t a hundred percent and wasn’t part of the original XI. But now, he can just walk in and go slam-bang and win you the game.”
“Similarly, say you need to defend six runs off the last over and you have someone like a Jasprit Bumrah sitting in the dug-out. So, what does the captain do? Brings in Bumrah at the end of the 19th over and there you go. The concept has the potential to change the game,” he added.
The members will also be reviewing the 2019 edition of the IPL league and then will hold discussions on how to make the next edition of the league a bigger and better one.
