The International Cricket Council (ICC) has introduced a slew of rule changes across cricket formats aimed at streamlining gameplay, promoting fairness, and addressing long-standing challenges.
These updates, already active in the current World Test Championship cycle, also impact ODIs and T20Is from June 2025 onward.
Stop Clock Comes to Test Cricket
Borrowing from its success in limited-overs formats, the ICC has mandated a 60-second stop clock between overs in Test matches to curb delays. After two warnings, teams will face a five-run penalty for further violations, with a reset after every 80 overs.
Saliva Ban Refined
Although the use of saliva on the ball remains banned, umpires now hold discretionary power to decide whether the ball must be changed, mitigating past instances of manipulation to influence ball change requests.
Smarter DRS Protocols
The ICC has revised the Decision Review System (DRS) flow. In case of multiple events in one delivery, reviews must follow the chronological order. If a batter is given out and it turns out the method was incorrect, the TV umpire must now also assess alternative dismissal modes, keeping the original decision’s weightage intact.
Catch Reviews for No-Balls
Even if a delivery is later deemed a no-ball, umpires must now assess the fairness of the catch independently. If the catch was clean, only the no-ball run is awarded; if not, completed runs also count.
Penalising Deliberate Short Runs
Batters attempting to deceive by not completing runs will cost their team five penalty runs and allow the fielding side to choose the striker. Genuine aborted runs without deception remain unpunished.
Injury Substitutes Trial in First-Class Matches
In a significant step, the ICC is trialling full injury replacements in domestic first-class matches. Like-for-like substitutes can now replace visibly injured players, excluding minor ailments like cramps. The change, if successful, may extend to international matches in the future.
These changes, according to ICC officials, aim to align cricket with contemporary sporting standards and ensure a smoother, fairer playing experience across formats.
