The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to revolutionize the Indian Premier League (IPL) from next year onwards.
News agency IANS has quoted a senior BCCI official as saying that it is mulling over introducing the ‘Power Player’ concept from IPL 2020 onwards.
This new rule will allow each franchise to have 15 players in the team instead of regular eleven. The franchise can substitute a player at the fall of a wicket or at the end of an over anytime in the match.
The report quoted the official as saying that the concept has already been approved and will be further discussed with the IPL Governing Council at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on October 5.
“We are looking at a scenario where a team will not name the playing XI,” the official was quoted as saying. “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.”
This new concept, if implemented, can have game-changing consequences in the tournament. It will be a great challenge for the team captain and the coaching staff, where this innovative concept will test their ability to strategize.
Explaining how the ‘Power Player’ concept can change the result of the game, the official cited an instance: “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 100 percent [fit] and wasn’t part of the original XI. But now, he can walk in and go slam-bang and win you the game,” the BCCI official was quoted as saying by IANS.
“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.”
