14 May,2009 02:10 PM IST | | PTI
The Indian Premier League has decided to introduce an extra hour of play for matches affected by rain in the group stage while keeping a reserve day for the final in the event of a washout.
In a meeting of the IPL's Technical Committee it was decided that group league matches will have an extra hour in the event of rain while the semi-finals and final will have two additional hours of play.
The committee, in its meeting yesterday, also decided to go strict on substitutions.
According to a statement released on IPL's official website, substitute fielders will be permitted only in the event of injury, illness or other acceptable reasons.
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The committee wants to ensure that substitutions should not be treated as comfort breaks and used only when necessary.
The committee has also empowered on-field umpires to seek help from the third umpire in case they have doubts about the legality of a catch.
So far, the third umpire was taking a call on run out, stumping and boundaries.
In the event of a batsman hitting the sky camera, it was decided that it would be called a dead ball. All these changes to the rules will come into immediate effect, the IPL announced.
