Ipl tweaks rules after captains meeting

The IPL’s brass and skippers huddled at BCCI headquarters, and the game’s got fresh wrinkles for 2025—bowlers can shine the ball with saliva again, a nod to old-school swing after the COVID ban lifted. Teams bowling second in night matches can now swap the ball once after the 10th over to fight dew’s grip, a tweak captains pushed to level the soggy playing field. A Kolkata groundsman might grin, knowing his evening prep just got trickier.

The Decision Review System’s growing teeth too—Hawk-Eye will now judge height-based no-balls and off-stump wides, aiming for sharper calls. Umpires keep their say, swapping balls before the 10th if they’re soaked or warped, but post-10th, it’s a captain’s call—once, mandatory if dew’s the culprit. A Mumbai bowler might feel the edge, gripping a dry ball while the crowd roars.

A new code of conduct lands this season—demerit points and suspensions stack up over 36 months, keeping players in line. The saliva rollback, though, has Mohammed Shami’s fingerprints—he’d griped about the ban hobbling reverse swing. Ten teams hashed this out, and the IPL’s betting on balance—batters ruled last year, but bowlers might just claw back some ground.