Exclusive 'No Ball Umpire' for IPL in 2020, no 'Power Player' for time being
Mumbai, Nov 5: The IPL Governing Council is planning to have an umpire assigned specifically to check "no balls" after a number of howlers in the past few seasons led to heightened concerns about the quality of Indian match officials.
It was also learnt that the much-hyped 'Power Player' concept of substitutions during IPL games was shelved for the time being as the project can't be piloted during upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (National T20), starting later this week.
The GC chaired by former Test batsman Brijesh Patel met at the cricket headquarters to discuss a slew of issues including FTP window, availability of foreign players, FTP of Indian team and possibility of franchises playing friendlies abroad.
However the talking point was having an exclusive umpire to check on the contentious front-foot and height no balls.
"If all goes well, during the next Indian Premier League, you could see another umpire apart from the regular umpires just to "observe" no-balls. The concept sounds weird, but this was among the issues discussed in the first IPL Governing Council meeting which was held here," a senior GC member told reporters after the meet.
"We want to use the technology. We are having another umpire for only observing no-balls. There will be an umpire, who will be focused on no-balls only. And he will not be third or fourth umpire," the influential member said.
There was a lot of hue and cry during the last IPL, when some debatable decisions were taken with regards to front-foot no-balls.
India skipper Virat Kohli even had a heated word with Indian umpire S Ravi, who failed to spot a no-ball by Mumbai Indians' Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga, which proved costly for the Royal Challengers Bangalore during one of the IPL matches.
It is understood that the concept of having such umpires could be tried at any of the domestic tournament before a final call will be taken on it.
On the concept of 'Power Player', the official said: "The matter was discussed but there is too little time to implement during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which starts on Friday, November 8."
The PTI had reported on Friday that there was little or no possibility of 'Power Player' being introduced for the time being without consent of BCCI president Sourav Ganguly.
Sources close to the president had in fact said that there is no chance of implementing it for the time being.
There have been questions in the BCCI corridors whether one particular IPL operations man had devised the strategy which would have favoured one particular franchise with aged players. Also a concept like this could send the potential bookies and match-fixers on an overdrive.
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Two Delhi men held for BMTC bus phone thefts in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: Whitefield police have arrested two men from Delhi for allegedly stealing mobile phones from passengers travelling in Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses and solved 14 theft cases, officials said on Tuesday.
The arrested accused have been identified as Jai Chand (25), who worked at a hotel in Delhi, and Tarun (34), an autorickshaw driver in Delhi.
Officials said on January 24, a Mahadevapura resident lodged a complaint that his iPhone 15 Plus was stolen while he was travelling on a BMTC bus towards Whitefield.
Based on the complaint, police registered a case and arrested two suspects within an hour near a lodge on Hosa Road. During the arrest, the police found a bag containing several stolen mobile phones.
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“During interrogation, the suspects confessed that they were stealing mobile phones from passengers travelling in BMTC buses. They had also committed thefts during a concert held under the Channarayapatna police station limits on January 23,” the police said.
Investigations revealed that the accused had travelled from Delhi for the concert and stolen mobile phones from the audience. A third suspect is at large and is likely hiding in the Shahdara area of Delhi.
One of the victims, a YouTuber, raised the theft issue in February in a post on X.
“Here is my (FIR No 0013/2026 is registered in Channarayapatana PS. Your GSC No. is PO1814260100013) request @DelhiPolice @BlrCityPolice to plz look into this & get my device back since it's my work phone & I am a youtuber, all my data is there! someone plz help. @dcpwhitefield,” Anirban Sarkar posted on X on February 6.
Police have recovered 14 mobile phones of various brands, collectively valued at about Rs 9 lakh, from the accused. The two were produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody.
In total, one case from Whitefield and 13 from Channarayapatna police stations were detected. Further investigation is underway.
