KEY POINTS
- Both new balls in ODIs will be used until the 34th over, after which teams must choose one ball to finish the innings
- In ODIs reduced to 25 overs or fewer, only one ball will be used throughout the match
- Captains must submit a pre-match list of five designated concussion substitutes
- Airborne catches taken from outside the boundary without prior contact inside the field will be ruled invalid
- New rules to apply exclusively to men’s international cricket
ISLAMABAD: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has unveiled a dramatic suite of rule changes set to impact all three formats of the men’s game – Tests, ODIs, and T20 Internationals.
From the swirling leather of reverse-swinging balls to the legality of airborne acrobatics at the boundary, cricket is stepping into a new era.
One of the headline acts in the ICC’s latest performance is a significant change to the use of cricket balls in One Day Internationals.
Currently, ODIs operate with a fresh ball from each end, replaced after 25 overs. But starting July 2, both balls will now stretch their lives until the 34th over.
From the 35th over onward, teams must select one of the two battle-hardened spheres to carry them through the final stretch. In matches trimmed to 25 overs or fewer, only a single ball will take centre stage.
The ICC believes the shift will breathe new life into the art of reverse swing, especially in the death overs a fading spectacle in recent years due to over-sanitized conditions created by constantly new balls.
Safety meets strategy as the ICC tightens the screws on concussion substitutes. No longer can teams pluck a replacement mid-match without foresight.
Captains must now submit a list of five designated concussion substitutes before the toss. This pre-match menu must include a batter, an all-rounder, a wicketkeeper, a fast bowler, and a spinner.
This change, effective from June 17 in Tests and staggered into ODIs and T20Is by mid-July, aims to add clarity and consistency in the handling of player injuries while maintaining fairness.
In what may end a string of viral highlight reels, the ICC, in partnership with cricket’s law keepers at the MCC, has declared airborne ‘bunny-hop’ boundary catches illegal.
The new law targets those gravity-defying moments where a fielder launches from beyond the ropes and redirects or catches the ball mid-air – without ever setting foot back inside the field of play.
Such aerial antics, effective from October 2026 (but enforced in ICC competitions from next week), will no longer count.
Under the updated law, initial contact with the ball must occur while the fielder is grounded inside the playing field.
However, catches where the ball is first touched inside, then juggled or completed after a legal exit and re-entry remain within the bounds of the game.
With these sweeping changes, the ICC isn’t just tweaking the rulebook – it’s reimagining the sport’s strategic core.
Whether it’s bowlers salivating at the thought of reverse swing in overs 45-50, or captains rethinking team composition with pre-declared subs, the gentleman’s game is poised for a refreshingly modern twist.
