New DRS protocols. No change of ball after the use of saliva. Stop-clock for Tests and more. The ICC unveiled new cricket rules for 2025 onwards. These rules will be effective from July 2 onwards. However, some of these new rules have been already implemented due to the new cycle of the World Test Championship 2025-27 as it has begun.
The changes were recommended by Sourav Ganguly, the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee, as they look to improve cricket further. We will look into the noteworthy changes across the three formats of cricket.
Also read: Cricket at the Asian Games: Set to Feature in 2026
New cricket rules for 2025: Details on Playing Conditions Changes
Stop-clock in Test Cricket
Test cricket will also introduce a stop-clock after a successful introduction in white-ball cricket. The rule implies that the next over by the bowling team must be bowled within 60 seconds of the previous over being completed.
There are a total of two warnings that will be given to the bowling side if they fail to start the next over within 60 seconds. After the third time failure, it will lead to a five-run penalty that will be imposed against them on each occasion.
The two warnings will be erased and will be set to zero after 80 overs have passed, in line with a new ball becoming available.
Boundary catches
Perhaps the biggest rule for the fielding side. The “Bunny Hop” will no longer be allowed in cricket. The rule now states that “a fielder who is airborne can only touch the ball once beyond the boundary and will need to come back inside the field for the catch to be called fair.”
This was highlighted plenty of times in cricket. One that stood out was Michael Neser’s catch during the 2023 Big Bash League, which later led the MCC to review the catching conditions in cricket, which has now been changed and has already been affected due to the ongoing new WTC cycle.
Number of balls per ODI innings
The ICC has brought back the “One Ball” rule with a little twerk. The current rule, where two different balls are used from each end, was implemented in October 2011.
In this rule, two new balls will be used for the first 34 overs of an ODI innings. Afterwards, the fielding team will choose one of the balls for the remaining overs.
If a match is reduced to 25 overs or fewer before the start of the first innings, only one new ball will be used for the entire innings.
Concussion protocols
The concussion protocols have undergone two modifications.
It is now mandatory for teams to designate their designated replacements for concussions during the game. This reduces the edge that home teams had historically had, as they usually had access to a wider range of possible replacements.
If a player sustains a concussion during a game, they must take a minimum of seven days off before they can resume playing. The ICC Medical Advisory Committee has suggested this modification to promote the safety and well-being of players.
DRS wicket zone
The “wicket zone” in cricket’s Decision Review System (DRS) is the area defined by the stumps and bails that is used to determine whether a ball would have struck the wicket in an LBW (leg before wicket) review. To figure out whether the ball would have struck the wicket in an LBW review, ball-tracking technology (such as Hawk-Eye) estimates the ball’s trajectory. The projection’s target area is the wicket zone.
The precise outline of the stumps and bails will now be the wicket zone.
Deliberate short runs
The fielding team will also decide which of the two hitters strikes for the following delivery, in addition to the current five-run penalty for a deliberately short run.
Replacement players
A player who experiences a significant injury on the field at any point after the match begins (including during the pre-match warm-up) may be substituted for the rest of the match by a fully active substitute of the same position.
Wide Ball Trial
To offer flexibility for a bowler who notices the batter shifting before or during a delivery, a new wide ball regulation will be tested.
In the updated rules, the stance of the batter’s legs at delivery will serve as the reference for a wide, regardless of whether the batter later shifts to the offside.
The trial will result in a ball crossing the popping crease between the leg stump and the protected area marker not being deemed a Wide. To assist with this, the marker line for the protected area will be lengthened to the popping crease and serve as a reference for the umpires.
Any delivery on the leg side that goes behind the batter’s legs and outside the line when the ball arrives at the popping crease can still be considered a Wide.
A wide was previously called for a delivery that wouldn’t have been deemed wide if the batter had maintained their usual batting stance.
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