Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to revolutionise the Indian Premier League from next year onwards, if reports are to be believed. News agency IANS quoted a senior BCCI official as saying that it is mulling over introducing the 'Power Player' concept from IPL 2020 onwards.
The rule will allow each team to have 15 players in the team instead of the regular XI. The team can substitute a player at the fall of a wicket or at the end of an over at any point in the match.
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The report quoted the official as saying that the concept has already been approved and that it will be further discussed at the IPL Governing Council meeting 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."
The 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 their ability to strategise will be tested by this innovative concept. Explaining how the 'Power Player' concept can change the complexion of the match, 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 per cent [fit] and wasn’t part of the original XI. But now, he can just walk in and go slam-bang and win you the game,” the IANS article quoted the official as saying.
“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.”
If the 'Power Player' concept becomes a reality, it will add another feather in the cap of the newly-appointed BCCI president Sourav Ganguly. The former Indian skipper convinced captain Virat Kohli and the Bangladesh to play their first-ever Day-Night Test match, which will take place on November 22 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.