The 2024 season of the Lanka Premier League, Sri Lanka's top domestic T20 competition, will have a new rule called 'Power Blast'. (More Cricket News)
The Power Blast rule will add two overs of additional field restrictions during the 16th and 17th overs of the innings apart from the regular powerplay which lasts the first six overs.
During the Power Blast, a maximum of four fielders can be stationed outside the 30-yard circle, two more than the usual powerplay.
The move is aimed towards making these overs "a more aggressive and thrilling phase of the game".
"We decided to bring this innovation in order to create further excitement for the league, which is growing year by year," Samantha Dodanwela, the LPL's tournament director, said in a statement. "This new introduction is sure to generate a lot of excitement among the fans, and the teams will need to strategise effectively to make the most of this period."
Apart from the first six overs, there are five fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circlet. The new rule in the LPL will force the fielding captain to bring one extra fielder inside the circle during the Power Blast overs.
The innovation is in line with the trend of making the T20 format more batter friendly. Two seasons ago, Indian Premier League had also introduced the Impact Player rule which allowed teams to add an extra player to their line-up and use it in place of any other player.
The Impact Player rule has come under harsh criticism during this IPL season as it favoured the batting teams to score more freely as they had the protection of an extra batter. It was also slammed for reducing the role of allrounders.
Earlier in 2020, Australia's Big Bash League also introduced a similar field restriction rule called the Power Surge. In this, the traditional six over powerplay was shortened to four overs allowing the batting side to take the two remaining overs of field restrictions any time after the 11th over.
In the BBL, powerplays were split into the four and two overs while the LPL 2024 rule adds two extra overs of field restrictions.
LPL 2024 begins from July 1 with the final scheduled for July 21. Five city-based franchise partake in the fifth edition of the tournament. Kandy, Dambulla, and Colombo will host the 20 games.
