ICC Announces Important Rule Changes for Men’s Cricket

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has made changes to the rules for men’s One Day Internationals (ODIs) and concussion substitutes.

Two-Ball Rule Change:

Currently, two new balls are used in an ODI innings—one from each end. Under the new ICC rule, two new balls will be used only until the 34th over. After that, the bowling team will pick one ball to use from both ends for the rest of the innings (overs 35 to 50). This change aims to balance the game better between batsmen and bowlers. If the match is shortened to 25 overs or less, only one new ball will be used for the entire innings.

Concussion Substitute Protocol:

Teams must now name five substitute players before the match, each with a specific role: one wicketkeeper, one batter, one seam bowler, one spin bowler, and one all-rounder. This helps ensure fair like-for-like replacements if a player gets a concussion. If the substitute also gets injured, the match referee can allow another replacement from outside the named list.

Other Changes:

The MCC has also updated the rules about catches near the boundary, banning the “bunny hop” move for clean catches outside the boundary.

These ICC changes will start from June 17 for Test matches, July 2 for ODIs, and July 10 for T20 internationals, and currently apply only to men’s cricket.