The International Cricket Council (ICC) has introduced an important change in the way PowerPlays will be handled in shortened T20 Internationals. Up until now, when a match was reduced due to rain or any other interruption, the PowerPlay overs were rounded off to the nearest full over.
To make things more accurate, the ICC has decided that PowerPlays in shortened T20Is will now be calculated ball-by-ball, instead of over-by-over.
The decision takes inspiration from the T20 Blast. The ICC Men’s Cricket Committee found that players and officials had no issues with ending the PowerPlay mid-over. This rule will officially come into effect from July 2025.
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ICC Introduces Ball-Based PowerPlay for Shortened T20Is
Till now, when matches were cut short due to rain or any interruption, the number of PowerPlay overs used to be rounded off. For example, if a match was reduced to 8 or 9 overs per side, the fielding restrictions would last either 2 or 3 overs.
The ICC now has tweaked this. They have decided that PowerPlay overs in shortened T20Is will now be calculated based on the exact number of balls, not full overs. So, if a match is 8 overs per side, the PowerPlay will last for 14 balls, which is two overs and two balls. If it is 9 overs, it will be 16 balls or 2.4 overs.
Here's a table on how a PowerPlay will be calculated now:
Match reduced (overs) | PowerPlay overs |
|---|---|
5 | 1.3 |
6 | 1.5 |
7 | 2.1 |
8 | 2.2 |
9 | 2.4 |
10 | 3 |
11 | 3.2 |
12 | 3.4 |
13 | 3.5 |
14 | 4.1 |
15 | 4.3 |
16 | 4.5 |
17 | 5.1 |
18 | 5.2 |
19 | 5.4 |
Other Important Rule Updates You Should Know
The ICC has rolled out a few more important rule changes. One of the major additions is the introduction of a stop clock in Test matches to keep a check on the time taken between overs. This rule, already tested in white-ball formats, is now being expanded to the longer format to improve over rates.
There’s also been a small tweak to the DRS protocol for combined and secondary reviews. Another significant update is the allowance of permanent like-for-like substitutions in case of serious injuries.
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