(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Published: Thu 30 Mar 2023, 2:05 PM The usual procession of global cricket stars like Virat Kohli and Ben Stokes will be reinforced by so-called impact players in the latest innovation for the Indian Premier League in Season 16.
The biggest and richest franchise tournament in the sport is set to open on Friday with the defending champion Gujarat Titans against four-time champion Chennai Super Kings.
The 2023 edition will be a mix of the old and the new, returning to the home-and-away format across 70 matches in the first phase, with four knockouts to follow.
The Covid-19 pandemic caused all kinds of scheduling issues for the trailblasing Twenty20 tournament.
In 2021, the IPL was halted midway in April because of a coronavirus surge, and the second half was staged in the UAE in September. The entire 2020 edition was staged in the UAE and last year, competition returned to India but under restrictions, with all games either in Mumbai or Pune until the knockout stage, when the venues shift to Kolkata and Ahmedabad.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricketers Mohammed Siraj (left) and Virat Kohli attend the unveiling event of the team's jersey in Bengaluru. - AFP So there's tremendous buzz among Indian cricket fans as the IPL comes home for all 10 franchises.
For context, the initial 65,000 tickets put on sale for the season-opening game between Gujarat and Chennai at Ahmedabad were sold out within hours. A sell-out crowd is expected at the 135,000-seat stadium Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad for Friday's opening game.
The Titans, led by Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, won the title in their debut season. The franchise has the world's foremost T20 bowler Rashid Khan on its books, and has further rejuvenated its squad by bringing in former New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson.
Ahmedabad fans, like millions across India, will be hoping to catch a glimpse of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the former India captain who is a colossal figure for Chennai Super Kings.
The 41-year-old Dhoni will be leading again after a failed experiment with a replacement captain last year, and there's increased speculation that this will be his last playing season. Chennai will be fielding a stronger squad with England's Test skipper Stokes and all-rounder Moeen Ali in the group.
Another England player in the spotlight is all-rounder Sam Curran, who missed 2022 IPL because of injury but now returns for Punjab Kings as the most expensive player in 15 years. He was player of the tournament at the 2022 T20 World Cup, which England won.
All-rounder Cameron Green enters the IPL for the first time with Mumbai Indians after playing a big role for Australia on the recent tour to India.
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians, who finished last in the league in 2022, snapped up Green in one of the most lucrative deals in the this year's player auctions.
The IPL will also break new ground in terms of its broadcast. For the first time in Indian cricket, there will be two different broadcasters involved in taking the action to audiences.
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma (left) speaks as coach Mark Boucher looks on during a news conference in Mumbai. - AFP Disney Star retained television rights for the 2023-2027 period and Viacom18 entered into the market with digital rights for the same five-year cycle in deals that were worth about $6 billion for the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which runs the IPL.
What are the new rules?
As well as new players, there's a host of new rules for the 2023 season.
The biggest one pertains to an Impact Player, giving teams a chance to bring in a substitute player at any time during the game. Any Indian player can act as an Impact Player, while an overseas player can only be used in the role if the team hasn't used the full quota in the starting XI. As a standard rule, IPL teams can contain a maximum of four overseas players in its starting lineup.
For this purpose, the rules around the coin toss have been changed. Captains can now confirm a starting lineup after the toss, instead of before, depending on if they're batting or bowling first. Not everyone is convinced it's the best way forward.
“This rule almost negates the role of all-rounders,” Delhi Capitals head coach and former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said.
“Unless they are absolutely world class, and are getting picked either as batsman or bowler, not sort of bits and pieces guys, I don't think we will see many teams this season who actually use all-rounders that might bat at No. 7 and bowl an over or two. Because you don't need those guys any more.”
In another important change, a time penalty has been introduced to control over rates. Like in international T20 and one-day international cricket, the number of fielders outside the 30-yard circle will be reduced if the fielding team fails to finish its overs in the stipulated time.
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