Slow over-rates have, in the past few days, become one of the talking points in the ongoing edition of the IPL. As the name suggests, it is an offence committed by a team when they fail to bowl their overs in a stipulated time period. Virat Kohli was fined Rs 24 lakh for maintaining a slow over-rate against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2023. Along with him, his teammates too were fined Rs 6 lakh each. Also, in a recent development, Delhi Capitals skipper David Warner was fined Rs 12 lakh for the same offence. Several captains across formats, over the years, have been fined for maintaining slow over rates as well. What is Stat Padding in Cricket? Know About the Infamous Term.

So how does this work and what are the penalties that a captain and a team have to bear when they are found guilty of slow over-rate? In this article, we shall take a look at this.

What is the offence of slow over-rate in cricket?

An over rate is the average number of overs the fielding team bowls in an hour during a match. It is different for the three formats of the game. For example, in Test cricket, teams are expected to bowl 15 overs per hour. In ODIs, a fielding team will have three and a half hours of stipulated time to finish an innings. And in T20s, 90 minutes is the allotted time for a fielding side to complete their set of overs in an innings. In the Indian Premier League (IPL), each fielding side is expected to finish their quota of overs in 90 minutes, which will also include two strategic time-outs. However, the time used for DRS and also in case of injuries to players is not counted within these 90 minutes. The third umpire is the one to keep an eye on the time of an innings. Dream11 Points Rule for Impact Player: Will You Get Fantasy Points for New Substitute Rule in IPL 2023? Here’s All You Need to Know.

What are the penalties for a captain if found guilty of maintaining slow over-rate?

There are several penalties when it comes to slow over-rates. Under the new rules of the ICC, a fielding team in a T20 match, will need to start the 20th over by the 85th minute of that innings. Time spent on injuries and reviews will be taken into consideration as it is not under a captain's control. If a captain fails to start the last over by the stipulated time, they will need to have one less fielder outside the 30-yard circle.  That means a team, which could have had five fielders outside the inner circle, will now be allowed to have just four, which is a significant advantage to the team batting at that point in time.

Additionally, the captain will be fined Rs 12 lakh if he/she is found guilty of slow over-rate. It has to be noted that only the captain will be fined if this offence happens for the first time. However, that would change if it happened twice. If a captain is found guilty of maintaining a slow over rate for the second time in a season, the fine will be increased to Rs 24 lakh and additionally, all team members will be penalized Rs 6 lakh (or 25% of their match fee) as well. If this happens for a third time, then the captain of the team might be handed a one-match ban, fined Rs 30 lakh and the whole team fined Rs 12 lakh or 50% of their match fee, whichever is lesser.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 25, 2023 07:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).