There comes a fresh update about the IPL 2024. It will allow bowlers to deliver two bouncers an over to make the fixture an even contest between bat & ball. The change in the playing conditions was made during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023-2024 which is India’s T20 domestic Tournament.
Saurashtra’s veteran Jaydev Unadkat who has played for various IPL teams has open-handedly welcomed this move of the management. He said that the introduction of allowing two bouncers per over is a very useful move for the bowler & will give them an added advantage over the batter. Further elaborating this point Unadkat said that if he bowls a slow bouncer then the batter in the previous case will be sure that no more bouncer will come. But in this case, if the bowlers bowl one slow bouncer in the first half of the over, you can still use one more [in the over].
Any batter who is weak against bouncers will have to improve themselves & will give an added advantage to the bowler. He said that he is happy with the change & called it a small but impactful change in favor of a bowler. He further highlighted the benefit of two bouncers per over rule saying that it will allow the fast bowlers to try and rein batters in at the death.
He highlighted another benefit by saying, “Now, there’s an additional option available. In the death overs, fast bowlers used to primarily focus on yorkers. However, with the allowance of two bouncers per over, the strategy has expanded to include yorkers, slower balls, and bouncers. Even if the second bouncer isn’t delivered, the batsman still carries the anticipation that it might come into play.”
The Impact Player Rule will continue in IPL 2024
On the other hand, the Impact player rule which came into existence in IPL 2023 will continue in the 2024 edition as well. Under the Impact Player rule in addition to Playing XI, a team will have four substitutes out of which they can use anyone in the fixture as an Impact player. If the team has four overseas players in the Playing XI then they can bring just one Indian player as an Impact Player. This condition is to limit the No of overseas players per fixture to four per team- a rule that IPL has adhered to since its inception. However, if the team begins with three or fewer overseas players in their XI then they can have an overseas player as an Impact player. But the incoming overseas player should be among the four substitutes named at the toss.
The impact Player rule has reduced the dependence on all-rounders as players like Venkatesh Iyer, Vijay Shankar, and Shivam Dube are largely termed in as batters for their teams in IPL 2023. The trading window is closed for now & will open on December 20 just a day after the mini-auction & will stay open before the IPL 2024 begins.
Talking of IPL 2024 it will be played between March 22 and the end of May, with the final schedule to be announced once the polling dates for India’s general elections have been finalised by the Election Commission.
Also read, Nottinghamshire signs Will Young for County 2024
