Exclusive ‘no ball umpire’ for IPL

PM Modi, please give your time to this and guide us how we can make India clean as well as healthy. — Harbhajan Singh, former India cricketer on pollution

Mumbai: The IPL Governing Council is planning to have an umpire assigned specifically to check “no balls” after a number of howlers in the past few seasons led to heightened concerns about quality of Indian match officials. It was also learnt that the much-hyped ‘Power Player’ concept of substitutions during IPL games was shelved for the time being as the project can’t be piloted during upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (National T20), starting later this week. The GC chaired by former Test batsman Brijesh Patel met at the cricket headquarters to discuss a slew of issues including FTP window, availability of foreign players, FTP of Indian team and possibility of franchises playing friendlies abroad. However the talking point was having an exclusive umpire to check on the contentious front-foot and height no balls. “If all goes well, during the next Indian Premier League, you could see another umpire apart from the regular umpires just to “observe” noballs. The concept sounds weird, but this was among the issues discussed in the first IPL Governing Council meeting which was held here,” a senior GC member told reporters after the meet. “We want to use the technology. We are having another umpire for only observing no-balls. There will be an umpire, who will be focused on no-balls only. And he will not be third or fourth umpire," the influential member said. — PTI