Rule changes to help bowlers at IPL 2025

football20 March 2025 14:30
By:Neil Manthorp
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Spit may not be the most important part of the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League but it will come as a relief to under-siege bowlers who have seen scores sky-rocket in recent years with the introduction of the Impact Player and pitches that are flatter than ever.

The use of saliva to shine the ball was banned around the world during the Covid pandemic but the campaign to allow its use once again has finally persuaded the IPL administrators to concede a small advantage to the bowlers who will also have the luxury of a second new ball after the 11th over of the second innings should the umpires agree that there is excessive dew on the outfield.

The use of an Impact Player will, however, continue until at least 2027 despite several teams supporting a return to โ€˜normalโ€™ with the starting XI remaining unchanged except in the case of concussion substitutes.

South Africa have no less than 17 players at this edition of the worldโ€™s third richest sporting tournament although several may struggle for game-time having been called up as last-minute injury replacements.

Nonetheless for first-timers like Wiaan Mulder, Ryan Rickelton, Mathew Breetzke and Corbin Bosch the experience will last a lifetime.

Faf du Plessis, still going strong at the age of 40, joins teammates Tristan Stubbs and Donovan Ferreira at Delhi Capitals โ€“ his third franchise โ€“ while the only team without a South African presence are the Chennai Super Kings.

The tournament kicks off on Saturday with defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders, hosting Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Eden Gardens beginning at the usual time of 7:30pm local time (4pm CAT) with a double-header on Sunday when Sunrisers Hyderabad host Rajasthan Royals in the afternoon with Mumbai Indians travelling to Chennai Super Kings who share 10 titles between them.

Mumbai have not won their opening game for the last 12 years.

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS

Captain: Ruturaj Gaikwad

Indian Stars: MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda

Overseas Players: Rachin Ravindra (NZ), Sam Curran (Eng), Devon Conway (NZ), Jamie Overton (Eng), Nathan Ellis (Aus), Noor Ahmad (Afg), Matheesha Pathirana,

South Africans: None

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS

Captain: Ajinkya Rahane

Indian Stars: Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy,

Overseas Players: Rovman Powell (WI), Moeen Ali (Eng), Sunil Narine (WI), Andre Russell (WI), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afg), Spencer Johnson (Aus)

South Africans: Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje

RAJASTHAN ROYALS

Captain: Sanju Samson

Indian Stars: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag

Overseas Players: Shimron Hetmyer (WI), Wanindu Hasaranga (SL), Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afg), Maheesh Theekshana (SL), Jofra Archer (Eng)

South Africans: Kwena Maphaka

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD

Captain: Pat Cummins (Aus)

Indian Stars: Ishan Kishan, Mohammad Shami, Rahul Chahar, Jaydev Unadkat

Overseas Players: Travis Head (Aus), Kamind Mendis (SL), Adam Zampa (Aus), Eshan Malinga (SL), Devon Conway (NZ), Eshan Malinga (SL)

South Africans: Heinrich Klaasen, Wiaan Mulder

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU:

Captain: Rajat Patidar

Indian Stars: Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Overseas Players: Tim David (Aus), Liam Livingstone (Eng), Jacob Bethell (Eng), Romario Shepherd (WI), Phil Salt (Eng), Josh Hazlewood (Aus), Nuwan Thushara (SL),

South Africans: Lungi Ngidi.

DELHI CAPITALS

Captain: Axar Patel

Indian Stars: Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav

Overseas Players: Jake Fraser-McGurk (Aus), Dushmantha CHameera (SL), Mitchell Starc (Aus),

South Africans: Faf du Plessis, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira

PUNJAB KINGS

Captain: Shreyas Iyer

Indian Stars: Praveen Dubey, Prabhsimran Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh,

Overseas Players: Marcus Stoinis (Aus), Glenn Maxwell (Aus), Aaron Hardie (Aus), Azmatullah Omarzai (Afg), Josh Inglis (Aus), Lockie Ferguson (NZ), Xavier Bartlett (Aus)

South Africans: Marco Jansen

MUMBAI INDIANDS

Captain: Hardik Pandya

Indian Stars: Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Jasprit Bumrah

Overseas Players: Will Jacks (Eng), Micthell Santner (NZ), Bevon Jacobs (NZ), Reece Topley (Eng), Trent Boult (NZ), Mujeeb ur Rahman (Afg)

South Africans: Corbin Bosch, Ryan Rickelton

GUJARAT TITANS

Captain: Shubman Gill

Indian Stars: Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Overseas Players: Glenn Phillips (NZ), Sherfane Rutherford (WI), Rashid Khan (Afg), Jos Buttler (Eng), Karim Janat (Afg)

South Africans: Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada

LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS

Captain: Rishabh Pant

Indian Stars: Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Ravi Bishnoi,Akash Deep,

Overseas Players: Mitchell Marsh (Aus), Nicholas Pooran (WI), Shamar Joseph (WI),

South Africans: David Miller, Aiden Markram, Matthew Breetzke.