The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced new regulations for IPL 2025 practice sessions, aiming to balance pitch preservation with adequate team preparation.
IPL 2025 is set to begin on March 22, featuring an exciting opener between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Eden Gardens. Ahead of the season, BCCI has outlined structured practice guidelines to maintain the quality of grounds while ensuring fair access for all teams.
Key regulations include:
- Teams can hold up to seven practice sessions, each lasting a maximum of three hours under floodlights. Two of these sessions may be used for practice matches or open nets, at the team’s discretion.
- Practice matches must take place on side wickets of the main square, with a maximum duration of three and a half hours if played under lights. Prior written approval from BCCI is mandatory.
- No practice sessions or matches can be conducted on the main square in the four days preceding a team’s first home game. However, teams will have access to one side wicket for range hitting during this period.
- If both the home and away teams request practice at the same time, BCCI will allocate two-hour exclusive slots for each team, ensuring equal playing conditions.
- Range hitting will be permitted throughout scheduled practice sessions. Dedicated wickets at the far edges of the main square will be prepared for this purpose.
- During the tournament, teams will have access to two nets in the practice area and one side wicket on the main square for range hitting. In Mumbai, if two teams practice simultaneously, they will each receive two wickets. Open nets are not allowed, and teams cannot use wickets vacated early by others. No practice sessions will be permitted on match days.
These measures have been put in place to optimize training while safeguarding match-ready conditions throughout the IPL season.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Stay ahead of the latest cricket industry trends by subscribing to our free cricexec “daily briefing” newsletter.
