BCCI brings strict rules on deliberately short run

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has introduced several new rules for the new domestic cricket season. One of these is strict rules on deliberately short runs, where the opposition captain can make the decision about who can take strike for the next ball.

Previous BCCI actions on deliberate short run

In recent cricket, especially T20 cricket, it has been observed that a batter intentionally runs short while taking a couple to keep a strike for himself. The short run is never added to the player and team scoreboard, while the deliberate short run already has some punishments. 

In the case of a deliberate short run, the on-field umpires award a five-run penalty to the bowling team, along with disallowing all runs from the batting team on that delivery, and there can also be a hearing before the match referee. However, the BCCI has awarded another crucial layer for this kind of incident.

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New addition in the deliberate short run

From the new season in Indian domestic cricket, in the case of a deliberate short run, while the batting side's all runs will be disallowed, along with a five-run penalty to the fielding side, the umpires will also request the fielding side's captain to decide which of the two batters will take the strike for the next delivery. 

The BCCI has clarified about the deliberate short run. It means, "an attempt for batters to appear to run more than one run, while at least one batter deliberately does not make good their ground at one end." However, if a batter decides to abort a run, it will not be counted as a deliberate short run. 

In the revised BCCI playing conditions in domestic cricket, 18.5.2 says that in the case of a deliberate short run, the bowler’s end umpire shall:

• Disallow all runs to the batting side
• Signal No ball or Wide to the scorers, if applicable
• Award 5 Penalty runs to the fielding side
• Request the captain of the fielding side to identify which of the two batters will take strike for the next delivery.
• Award any other 5-run Penalty that is applicable except for Penalty runs under clause 28.3 (Protective helmets belonging to the fielding side)
• Inform the scorers as to the number of runs to be recorded; and
• Inform the captain of the fielding side and, as soon as practicable, the captain of the batting side of the reason for this action.
• The umpires together may report the occurrence as soon as possible after the match to the BCCI Match Referee.