Sourav Ganguly-led cricket committee gets ICC to finally scrap controversial 'soft' rule

The International Cricket Council has announced a plethora of changes that are set to be implemented from 1st June. The one-off Test match between England and Ireland will be the first game that will witness these changes. Men’s Cricket Committee head Sourav Ganguly has confirmed these developments.

Soft signal is being scrapped as Umpires don't need to provide a soft signal while referring to the third umpires. Ganguly stated, "The on-field umpires will consult with the TV umpire before any decisions are taken. Soft signals have been discussed at previous cricket committee meetings over the last couple of years."

"The committee deliberated this at length and concluded that soft signals were unnecessary and at times confusing since referrals of catches may seem inconclusive in replays."

ICC scraps soft signal rule

Three new changes announced to the Playing Conditions ahead of the #ENGvIRE Test and #WTC23 final 🚨https://t.co/N0PNSVGC5q

— ICC (@ICC) May 15, 2023

Other major changes which are being brought in are the inclusion of wearing helmets in dangerous positions and also a minor change to the existing free-hit rule. ICC has specified the positions where a cricketer has to oblige the new rules.

• when batters are facing fast bowlers
• when wicketkeepers are standing up to the stumps
• when fielders are close to the batter in front of the wicket.

Ganguly added, "We also discussed player safety, which is very important for us. "The committee decided that it was best to make the use of helmets mandatory in certain positions to ensure the safety of players."

Regarding the free hit rule, ICC has introduced a new rule which will enable the batsmen to take runs off a free hit and it will be added to the score even if he is bowled off that delivery. The second edition of the World Test Championship will also see these rules being implemented when India take on Australia.

Updated squad for WTC final

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk).

Standby players: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav.

Australia squad for WTC final

Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner