The 2026 season of the Indian Premier League is up and running and it has been a good start to the tournament with a few close games already. As per latest reports from Cricbuzz, BCCI has made a few big rules for the rest of the tournament and have already communicated about this with the team management of all franchises. One of the most notable rules that has been set up is that benched players will not be allowed to move around during a game. These rules have been added to the Match Playing conditions and teams will need to follow this going forward in this tournament. 

This means players who are not part of the Playing 11 will not be allowed to move around the ground freely during the game. Another important change is that extra players outside the designated 16 named in the team sheet cannot enter the field with drinks, bats or to deliver messages. Teams will select the playing XI after the toss and they also name players in the impact list. Only these 16 who are named in the sheet are allowed inside the ground. Players who are not in the team sheet after the toss will not be allowed inside the ground to engage with sending messages or giving drinks.

The third rule is that no more than 5 players wearing bibs can move around the boundary rope. These five can be from the nominated 16 or from the rest of the squad. This means that the team cannot have more than five players who are moving around the rope and passing on drinks or messages. Currently in many matches there are multiple different players who are spotted moving around the ground and helping the team mates but from here on this will not be possible.

The latest changes in rules is a tightening of a couple of relevant clauses in the Match Playing conditions - 11.5.2 and 24.1.4.

Clause 11.5.2 of the Playing Conditions reads, "An individual player may be given a drink either on the boundary edge or at the fall of a wicket, on the field, provided that no playing time is wasted. No other drinks shall be taken onto the field without the permission of the umpires. Any player taking drinks onto the field shall be dressed in proper cricket attire (subject to the wearing of bibs) - refer to the note in clause."

The 24.1.4 clause says, "Squad members of the fielding or batting team who are not playing in the match and who are not acting as substitute fielders shall be required to wear a team training bib whilst on the playing area (including the area between the boundary and the perimeter fencing)."

These rules are set to come into effect in the coming matches and teams have already been notified of the same from the IPL. It will be interesting to see how this impacts the games. The Indian Premier League has started really well and teams will be keen to bring out more competitive performances in the coming games