BCCI New Rules For Benched Players: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made the match playing conditions of the IPL 2026 season more stringent. Even before the start of the season, BCCI had changed some rules, which also included the rules regarding practice. Now the Board of Control for Cricket in India has issued guidelines for the players who are not selected in the playing 11 during the match, which all the players will have to follow, otherwise action can be taken.
Ban on doing this in IPL
Now in IPL, players sitting on the bench will not be able to roam around the field during the match. Only the 16 players nominated for the match will be allowed to come to the field for some important purposes (like carrying drinks or sending messages). Earlier it was often seen that reserve players would come to the field carrying drinks, bats or messages, but now this has been completely banned.
BCCI has given clear instructions that only a maximum of five players will be able to roam around the boundary rope. These five players will be included in the named 16. The remaining players will have to sit in the dugout only. They will not be able to move between the boundary line and LED advertising boards. Let us tell you, in IPL a team usually has a squad of up to 25 players, out of which the names of 16 players are in the team sheet of the match. The new rules make sections 11.5.2 and 24.1.4 of the existing Match Playing Conditions (MPC) more stringent. There were already rules about carrying drinks and staying in the field wearing a bib, but now they are being strictly enforced.
BCCI gave information to the teams
Several team sources told Cricbuzz that we have recently received instructions that all substitute players cannot move around during the match. They are also not allowed to take beverages on the field. Only the 16 players named in the team for the match can do this. Apart from this, only five players outside the playing eleven can move around. The remaining players can sit in the dugout, but cannot go between the boundary line and the LED advertising boards.