Captains’ choir

New captains, first-time captains, captains making a comeback and captains who are no longer captains — IPL 2024 has them all. Hardik Pandya will have a mountain to climb as he replaces Rohit Sharma at Mumbai Indians. Shubman Gill will have to fill into the big shoes Hardik has left behind at Gujarat Titans. Rishabh Pant will hope his knees make him stand tall on his return as the Delhi Capitals captain. Shreyas Iyer will have a hell lot to prove as the Kolkata Knight Riders captain after missing out last season with injury. Pat Cummins will hope he can transfer his golden form as the Australia captain when he leads Sunrisers Hyderabad. And Ruturaj Gaikwad will surely have butterflies in his stomach when he takes charge of the Chennai Super Kings. The IPL will also miss two of its most successful captains Rohit and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, though they will be there as players. In a nutshell, brace for some exciting times ahead, the IPL mind-space has just rebooted itself.

Bounce with joy

It’s no secret that the T20 format is partial to the batters. Be it the field restrictions of Powerplays or the fact that a bowler can bowl a maximum of just four overs, there’s simply too little one can do with the ball. But the bowlers can now cheer up as IPL 2024 will allow them to bowl two bouncers in an over. That will surely make the batters a bit more cautious about their adventurous ways. As Saurashtra left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat said, “it’s a small change with a huge impact”. Also new will be the Smart Replay System. That basically means quicker and more accurate reviews with the TV umpire and Hawk-Eye professionals sitting in the same room and having the advantage of more split screens and better frame rates. Last year’s ‘Impact Player’ rule will remain in use. A team can name four substitutes and can use any one of them as their Impact Player.

Old Knight, new role

Beware teams, Knight Gautam Gambhir is battle-ready. Yes, he is just a mentor, but we have seen enough of his fierce, competitive stance in the Lucknow Super Giants dugout. Reunited with his favourite team, expect Gambhir to be at his best as he strategises the Knights’ resurgence. A two-time IPL-winning captain, Gauti knows how to do it.

A new home

Think you know all about the home grounds of the IPL teams? It’s time to update yourself as a new venue will make its debut this season. The Punjab Kings, who used the PCA Stadium in Mohali as their home ground, have moved base. They will play most of their home games in Mullanpur, while also using the picturesque stadium in Dharamsala for a few games. Also, the Delhi Capitals will play a couple of their home games in Visakhapatnam before moving back to the Kotla in Delhi, their original home.