Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has come out with a unique 'replacement' rule for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The eighteenth season of the IPL will get underway from March 22 with the opening match between the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). In a move that could impact team strategies, the BCCI has introduced a new rule for the IPL 2025, allowing franchises to sign temporary player replacements. This new rule offers a degree of flexibility previously unavailable to teams.
Previously, franchises faced the constraint of signing permanent replacements for injured or withdrawn players, committing to them for the remainder of the season. However, a recent report from Cricbuzz reveals that the BCCI has implemented a unique rule allowing for temporary replacements for specific periods. Notably, this rule is currently limited to wicketkeepers, offering a specialised solution for teams facing short-term gaps in that crucial position.
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The new IPL rule specifically addresses situations where a franchise faces a shortage of wicketkeepers. If all wicketkeepers within a team's squad become unavailable, the franchise is permitted to select an unsold wicketkeeper from the IPL 2025 auction. This selection must adhere to matching the base price of the injured player. Crucially, the franchise has the option to retain this temporary replacement until one of their original wicketkeepers regains fitness, at which point the temporary player is released. This replacement player must be of Indian nationality, regardless of whether the original unavailable players were overseas acquisitions.
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Moreover, the BCCI is establishing a 'Registered Available Player Pool' comprised of unsold players from the IPL 2025 auction. Teams are explicitly instructed that any replacement selections must be made exclusively from this pool. Finally, a player can only be replaced within a squad due to injury, personal reasons, or national duty commitments, and this replacement window is limited to the period before the franchise's 12th match of the season.
It will be interesting to see how the new rule will impact the game as the cricket fans are eagerly waiting for the biggest cricketing carnival in the nation.