Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has recommended five rule modifications ahead of the 2026 IPL season. Among his recommendations, he stressed that teams ought to receive extra points for decisive wins, claiming that this would increase spectator excitement in the tournament’s later rounds.
Wins and net run rate act as tiebreakers for teams that end on identical points in the current IPL points table, which currently ranks teams mostly on total points. According to Chopra, adding a bonus point system for dominant victories will give the competition a new strategic component and make it even more competitive as the IPL draws to a close.
“Bring a bonus point. There is a lot of focus on net run-rate currently. I feel it does not bring that much thrill on a day-to-day basis. The simple funda is to give a bonus point if you play 20 percent better than the opposing team. If you score 200 runs, stop the opposition for less than 160. If you are chasing 200, do it in 16 overs, which means you played 20 percent fewer overs,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“Teams will come on odd points and it will become a little more thrilling. One might not feel it that much at the start, but when we reach the business end of the tournament, suddenly it will bring more thrill. Wherever you are in a season, you are never really out of it. A string of wins with bonus points will cover up for a few losses.”
Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra also proposed that, like the present concussion substitute rule, clubs should be permitted to field a substitute player in the event of serious injuries. Chopra also suggested changes that would assist teams better utilize the IPL’s mid-season transfer window, giving them more leeway to bolster their rosters as the competition goes on.
“You get a like-for-like concussion substitute. Why not do it for a serious injury as well? The BCCI is already doing that in first-class cricket. We are the flagbearers. We restarted the saliva use. Similarly, as a replacement for a serious injury, let’s do that in the IPL because we are the path setters.”
Aakash Chopra
“It exists, but it is never exercised. That is mid-season transfer. If you haven’t put a player’s name in your 16-player list, including the sub options, in the first eight matches, make him automatically available. Every team should mandatorily nominate three such players. Can you bring the unused resources to the table to uplift the tournament’s standard?”
Aakash Chopra
The former cricket player turned broadcaster also suggested that in order to promote fair play and more precise scoring, leg-side wides in the IPL should be strictly noted and fined. He also suggested taking into account the Big Bash League’s (BBL) Power Surge rule, which would enable teams to deliberately lengthen their innings.
“My fourth suggestion is about the leg-side wide. If you have watched attentively, there is a line far away from the stumps and another close to them. Can that line be kept as the wide mark? The ball should be wide on the leg side only if it goes outside that. As soon as the ball goes minutely outside the leg stump, it’s called a wide now. Sometimes you feel it’s unfair because it’s not unplayable.”
Aakash Chopra
There will be a mini-auction before to the nineteenth season, and the 2026 edition of the lucrative tournament is still months away. In the interim, it will be interesting to observe if any rule amendments are approved by the organizers and the BCCI.
