KKR criticial of inconsistent new rain rule

Calling the decision to allow 120 minutes' extra time for the remainder of the IPL 2025 league matches as "ad hoc", defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have said that they might have still been in the playoffs race if such a provision were available right from the resumption of the tournament.

On Tuesday, the IPL Governing Council approved the amendment of the playing conditions to allow an extra 120 minutes for each of the remaining nine league matches in a bid to complete full 20-over games in case of rain interruptions. Before that, the rules allowed an hour to be added beyond the regulation completion time (10.56pm for evening matches) for league matches and an two hours to be added for the four playoffs.

In an email to the ten franchises on Tuesday, accessed by ESPNcricinfo, IPL chief operating officer Hemang Amin said the decision to allow the extra minutes was because "several matches are at risk of being affected by rain due to the early onset of monsoon".

However, KKR chief executive Venky Mysore questioned the timing of the decision and asked whether the amendment could have come straightaway once the IPL resumed on May 17 with a Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vs KKR game in Bengaluru, which was washed out. "While these mid-season changes to the rules may be necessary under the circumstances, one would have expected more consistency in the way such changes are being applied," Mysore said in his email.

The RCB-KKR contest was the first match after IPL 2025 resumed following the suspension on May 9 following cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan. While fans filled up the M Chinnaswamy Stadium and paid a tribute to home team hero Virat Kohli, who had recently retired from Test cricket, there was no cricket as rain fell throughout the evening.

Overs started to be lost from 8.30pm and, while the cut-off time was 10.56pm, the match was called off at 10.26pm as the drizzle never ceased. The teams got a point each, which meant KKR's chances of making the playoffs were washed away.

If the extra two hours were available in that match, Mysore said, there could have been a possibility of a five-overs-a-side contest. "When the IPL re-started, it was clear that the first game on May 17 KKR vs RCB was at high risk of being interrupted due to rain in [Bengaluru]," he said. "The forecast was there for all to see. Not only was the game washed out but the additional 120 mins, now being applied may have provided a chance of at least a 5 over a side game.

"The wash-out ended KKR's chances of making the playoffs. Such ad hoc decision and inconsistencies of applying them are not appropriate for a tournament of this standing. I am sure you also understand why we feel aggrieved."