ICC Tweaks T20I Powerplay Rules for Shortened Matches

The ICC has made an important adjustment to the powerplay rules in men’s T20 internationals. From July onward, the length of the powerplay will now be rounded to the nearest ball instead of the nearest over when matches are shortened due to interruptions.

Currently, a full 20-over innings starts with a six-over powerplay. But under the old system, reducing innings length could create disproportionate powerplays due to rounding up or down to the nearest over.

More Precise Powerplay Lengths

With the updated regulation, a shortened innings will have a powerplay that more accurately reflects the intended percentage. For example, if the innings is reduced to eight overs, the powerplay will be exactly 2.2 overs, not rounded to two or three overs. Likewise, a nine-over innings will feature a 2.4-over powerplay, maintaining the roughly 30% share.

According to the ICC:

“π‘»π’‰π’Šπ’” 𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 π’Šπ’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑻20 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 π’Šπ’ π‘¬π’π’ˆπ’π’‚π’π’… 𝒇𝒐𝒓 π’Žπ’‚π’π’š π’šπ’†π’‚π’“π’”, π’˜π’‰π’†π’“π’† π’†π’π’…π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒂 π’‘π’π’˜π’†π’“π’‘π’π’‚π’š π’Žπ’Šπ’…π’˜π’‚π’š π’•π’‰π’“π’π’–π’ˆπ’‰ 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒏𝒐 π’…π’Šπ’‡π’‡π’Šπ’„π’–π’π’•π’š 𝒇𝒐𝒓 π’‘π’π’‚π’šπ’†π’“π’” 𝒐𝒓 π’π’‡π’‡π’Šπ’„π’Šπ’‚π’π’”.”

The change was endorsed by the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee, which believes this method is fairer and more consistent:

“𝑰𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 π’π’π’˜ 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒅 π’ƒπ’š 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰π‘ͺπ‘ͺ 𝑴𝒆𝒏’𝒔 π‘ͺπ’“π’Šπ’„π’Œπ’†π’• π‘ͺπ’π’Žπ’Žπ’Šπ’•π’•π’†π’† 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒅 π’Žπ’†π’•π’‰π’π’… π’Žπ’π’—π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’‡π’π’“π’˜π’‚π’“π’…,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰π‘ͺπ‘ͺ π’†π’™π’‘π’π’‚π’Šπ’π’†π’… 𝒕𝒐 π’Žπ’†π’Žπ’ƒπ’†π’“ 𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔.

How It Works in Practice

In a shortened eight-over match, umpires will now signal the end of the powerplay after two balls of the third over. At that point, fielding teams can move three more players outside the inner circle.

Other Significant Changes

This update to powerplay lengths is part of a broader set of playing condition changes recently approved by the ICC:

  • The introduction of a stop clock in Test cricket to help manage slow over-rates
  • A new protocol to review whether catches were fair even when the delivery is a no-ball
  • Trials allowing full-time playing replacements for serious injuries in domestic first-class cricket

While some of these adjustments have already come into effect for the 2025–27 World Test Championship cycle, the revised white-ball rules will all apply starting July 2.

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