The TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is just three nights away from entering its 19th edition. All teams are gearing up for the upcoming tournament, which will run for more than two months. IPL 2025 champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will be facing Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on the opening day. Ahead of the IPL, there has been a new rule change.

The rule change has been in place during the game; all the IPL captains have been warned about fielder movement before and after completing a catch. All 10 franchise captains have been informed that the fielder must have complete control of the ball and his body before the catch is considered complete and celebrations begin.

New catching rule in IPL

Clause 33.3 and Page 64 of the Playing conditions state an oft-repeated point: “The act of making a catch shall start from the time when the ball first comes into contact with a fielder’s person and shall end when a fielder obtains complete control over both the ball and his own movement.”

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The rule previously existed for a long time. However, during a meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday evening, captains were shown video recordings of various catches, some of which were deemed unfair.

Impact player rule to stay for two more seasons

At least one incident clearly demonstrated the problem, with officials emphasising that a fielder’s body must be completely under control for the catch to be declared legal. This rule, the teams were assured, will be strictly followed. BCCI head of match referee Javagal Srinath and BCCI head of Umpire panel Nitin Menon addressed this particular section of the 90-minute meeting.

All 10 captains were present in Mumbai for the captains’ photoshoot with the trophy. It was also discussed that the ‘Impact Player’ rule will be there for another two seasons and will be reviewed after the 2027 season. Though many captains have voiced their disagreement with this rule.

Captains not happy with impact player rules

Previously, Axar Patel voiced his concern over the impact player rule, saying that he does not like it personally, being an all-rounder, and pointed out that because of the rule, the coaching staff goes for either a specialist batter or a bowler.

“It was discussed, and it was made clear to all of us that the Impact Player rule is here to stay for at least two more seasons,” said a franchise member who attended Wednesday’s meeting.

During the captain’s photoshoot, they had a fun moment against each other playing with a tennis ball cricket on a closed box turf. The IPL is the oldest running franchise league in world cricket.

The impact player rule has advantages and disadvantages; the rule allows teams to bat deeper, leading to more explosive batting and higher-scoring games. It helps teams balance the disadvantages of batting or bowling first based on the pitch conditions. The extra batting cushion often makes it harder for bowlers to make a difference.

Also Read: “Win our first trophy”: Sanjiv Goenka crowns LSG as champions ahead of IPL 2026

Mumbai: Autonomous colleges affiliated to Mumbai University will have to ‘mandatorily’ seek approval for all their programmes and courses from the university’s academic council. Till date, colleges were only expected to ‘inform’ the university of the new courses they planned to offer. Additionally, these colleges will have to submit their examination committee minutes and status of their question paper and answer sheet audits to the university’s board of examinations and evaluation (BEE) on a regular basis.These guidelines in a recent circular issued by the university’s examination board, aimed at enhancing transparency, strengthening data integration and standardising processes. It has drawn mixed reactions from the academic community. Another decision was also taken at the university’s academic council meeting on Wednesday to regulate their courses. The administration, in a move to frame regulations for courses offered by autonomous colleges, directed them to design curricula in line with the National Education Policy, adopt course nomenclature as per the regulations of relevant apex bodies, and strictly adhere to the university’s passing scheme and standards.With a sharp rise in the number of autonomous colleges under the university, academicians have welcomed the initiatives to regulate courses and examination systems, saying they will help maintain checks and balances. The number of autonomous colleges affiliated to MU has increased from 39 to 130 over the past five years, particularly after the University Grants Commission relaxed the eligibility norms by removing the requirement of an ‘A’ grade from NAAC for autonomous status. A section of principals, however, also argued that it could violate the rights of colleges to exercise autonomy. A principal, however, said that colleges which are striving to become better will continue to do so.In Wednesday’s meeting, the university also issued the much-awaited guidelines for the fourth year under the NEP, for the first cohort from autonomous colleges. To offer the fourth year, the concerned college must have a postgraduate programme or a research centre on the subject. Colleges that conduct PG programmes will be able to offer four-year honours programmes and the ones with a research centre can offer the honors with research ones. Under the Honours Degree option, students are required to complete 160 to 176 credits over four years, with the fourth year dedicated to an in-depth study of their major subject along with a mandatory 4-credit internship. Under the Honours with Research option, students must undertake a 12-credit research project or dissertation in their major subject during the seventh and eighth semesters, with a minimum eligibility requirement of a CGPA of 7.5.

NEW DELHI: With hopes of a resolution to the West Asia conflict rising, sensex rallied over 1,200 points in late session on Wednesday to close above the 75,000 mark again.As diplomatic initiatives to end the war between the US-Israel and Iran picked up pace, markets around the world rallied, crude oil prices slipped, and precious metals gained. The global bullish sentiment also led to a slowdown in foreign fund selling in domestic equities, which, combined with strong domestic buying lifted sensex by 1,205 points (1.6%) to 75,273 points. On the NSE, Nifty gained 394 points (1.7%) to close at 23,306 points.

The day’s rally added Rs 8.2 lakh crore to investors’ wealth with BSE’s market capitalisation now at Rs 431 lakh crore, official data showed.According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, markets continued to build on the previous day’s momentum as global risk sentiment improved, with hopes of peace emerging on the radar. “Potential diplomatic progress between the US and Iran-despite mixed geopolitical commentary-led to easing crude oil prices below $100/barrel, which was welcomed by the market. Early signs of normalisation in maritime movement through the Strait of Hormuz are likely to further support investor confidence, although it may be early to comment.“On Wednesday, despite a muted close to the US markets the previous night, global markets rallied. Across Asia, Nikkei in Japan closed nearly 3% up while Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up 1.1% and Shanghai 1.3%. In Europe, in late trades FTSE in the UK was up 1.5% while Dax in Germany was up 1.6%. In early trades in US, Dow Jones and S& indices were up nearly 1% each while Nasdaq Composite was up 1.3%. And in Brazil, iBovespa was up 2% in opening trades.The sensex rally came despite a Rs 1,805-crore net selling by foreign funds, the lowest single-session figure since the war started. During the day, domestic investors were net buyers at Rs 5,430 crore, BSE data showed.

Rishabh Pant, Sanjiv Goenka

Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka said that reaching the playoffs is not enough and that the team must win the title to earn “respect”.Goenka said the franchise is still shaping its identity and that success in the league is measured by trophies rather than consistency alone.“I think the true identity is still evolving. For any sports team, until you win, you don’t receive the same level of respect or affection that comes with lifting the trophy. Yes, we’ve made the playoffs twice, but that’s clearly not good enough. You win some, you lose some, but we have to win our first trophy,” Goenka said while speaking on JioStar, as cited by news agency ANI.