The New Zealand and Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Jimmy Neesham said he doesn’t get the point of the new rule, in which a new batter has to take strike even if the two batters had crossed during caught dismissal.
The Marylebone Cricket Club has introduced a new rule in cricket for strike-rotation. According to this rule, if a batter is dismissed by the mode of catch, the new batter must take strike irrespective of whether the previous batting pair had crossed or not.
In international cricket, the rule will be applicable from October later this year. However, the IPL has decided to implement the rule straightaway from the upcoming season. The law was introduced during The Hundred league for the first time last year. The custodians of the sport are aiming to provide the bowlers with a little bit more advantage with this rule.
Important to note that the rule will not be applied if the dismissal takes place on the last ball of an over. According to the existing rule, a new batter stays on a non-striker’s end if the two batters had crossed each other before the catch was taken. With the new rule, bowlers will have the luxury of bowling at a new batter.
Neesham, who was picked by RR for the IPL 2022, has criticised the new law. The all-rounder doesn’t understand the point of fixing something that’s not broken. Neesham believes the new rule rewards the batters who stay unaware of the situation.
The NZ all-rounder did receive counterarguments from the fans who like this new rule as it gives some leeway and rewards the bowlers for taking a wicket.
In the 2022 mega auction, Neesham was bought for the base price of INR 1.50 crore in the by the Royals. This will be his third IPL team in as many years, having represented Punjab Kings in 2020 and Mumbai Indians in 2021.
