Historic for IPL 2025! BCCI announces franchise to sign players temporarily

All the ten franchises will now not be bound just to their reserve set of squad players. They can bring in players from outside in case of emergency.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made history by introducing a new clause that permits Indian Premier League (IPL) teams to temporarily bring in players in certain extreme situations. This change, set to change the landscape from IPL 2025 onwards, will give much more confidence to all the ten franchises.

The provision includes the creation of a Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP), a list from which franchises can recruit temporary replacements. While the general rule remains that teams cannot replace players for short-term unavailability, BCCI has made a key exception: wicketkeeper. Catch below why and how?

Cricket 4 hours IPL 2025: From extra match fees to regulations on WAGs, catch all new rules for Indian Premier League

Key Takeaways from the New IPL 2025 Rules:

1. Short-Term Replacements for Wicketkeepers

If all wicketkeepers in a franchise’s squad are unavailable, the team can request a special exemption from BCCI.

Upon approval, the franchise can sign a short-term replacement from the RAPP list.

The replacement must leave once any original squad wicketkeeper becomes available.

If the unavailable wicketkeeper is an overseas player, the replacement must be an Indian player if the team has already filled its quota of eight overseas players.

2. Replacements for Season-Ending Injuries

A player suffering a season-ending injury or illness may be replaced if:

The injury occurs before or during the team’s 12th league match.

A BCCI-nominated doctor confirms the injury is season-ending.

The player would have been available for all remaining matches if not for the injury.

The injured player will miss all remaining league matches.

Note: A replaced player cannot return to the team during that IPL season.

3. Other Replacement Scenarios

Replacement players are allowed only if a player is completely unavailable for the season due to:

International FTP commitments.

No No Objection Certificate (NOC) from their national or state board.

Injury or illness , confirmed by both the home board’s medical expert and a BCCI-nominated doctor.

, confirmed by both the home board’s medical expert and a BCCI-nominated doctor. Retirement from all professional cricket (not just the IPL).

from all professional cricket (not just the IPL). Any other reason approved by BCCI.

In such cases, the replacement player must come from the RAPP list, and the replaced player cannot return during the season.

4. Financial and Contractual Terms

Each unavailable player can be replaced by only one replacement.

replacement. The replacement player’s salary cannot exceed that of the unavailable player.

The fee is adjusted based on the number of matches remaining.

Replacement players’ salaries do not count towards the salary cap for that season.

5. Registration and Compliance

A replacement player must be part of the RAPP list, which consists of players who registered for the auction but were not picked.

If a franchise has hired a RAPP-listed player as a net bowler, it must release him if another team signs him as a replacement.

Franchises must seek BCCI approval before finalizing any replacement player.

No replacements can be signed before the player auction of the relevant season.

What should this mean for IPL 2025?

These new rules, particularly the short-term replacement option for wicketkeepers, bring a fresh luxury of flexibility for IPL teams. While the provision has existed, it has never been used in the tournament’s history. The introduction of the Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP) ensures that teams can find replacements fairly and transparently.

Consider a team like the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who only have two specialist keepers in the squad – Jitesh Sharma and Phil Salt. In an unfortunate scenario, if both of them catch an injury, RCB can bring in a keeper from the RAPP list to fill in.

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