ICC has changed the rules. (File pic)
New Delhi: The International Cricket Council has changed its rules. The ICC abolished the rule of soft signal, which was disputed many times in the past years. Now the umpire will not talk about soft signal while seeking help from the TV umpire. The on-field umpire will talk to the third umpire before taking any decision in this regard.
The committee headed by Sourav Ganguly had recommended this which was accepted by the ICC. This rule will be applicable from June 1. The final of the ICC World Test Championship is to be played between India and Australia from June 7. Now this match will be played with new rules.
What was soft signal?
Whenever the on-field umpire was confused about a decision, he used to send that decision to the third umpire. But before sending his decision to the third umpire, he had to take a decision which had to be told to the third umpire and this was called a soft signal. Understand it like this, suppose a fielder takes a diving catch. Now the on-field umpire is confused whether the ball hit the ground or not. That’s why he sent the decision to the third umpire, but at the same time he has to tell what he thinks about this catch, i.e. whether it is out or not.
In such a situation, the question was that how can the on-field umpire tell that means he can give a soft signal whether it is out or not when he is far away and he could not see anything clearly and that is why he sought help from the third umpire. Many times the third umpire used to give his decision keeping in mind the soft signal. That’s why this rule was in controversy, which has now been removed. Due to this rule, injustice had been done with many teams.
Must wear helmet
At the same time, the ICC has made another change. The ICC has made it mandatory for players to wear helmets in three situations to protect them from injuries. It is mandatory to wear a helmet if the batsman is facing the fast bowler, if the wicketkeeper is standing near the stumps and is keeping wicket, and if the fielder is standing near the batsman in front of the wicket.
