BCCI allows two bouncers per over and changes Impact Player rule for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) - India's domestic T20 tournament - will see three changes from the upcoming season: two bouncers allowed per over and minor tweaks to the Impact Player rule, which was trialled last season. Previously, the Impact Player could only be used before the 14th over of an innings in SMAT, but now the rule can be used at any time during the match, like it was in the IPL this year.

The other tweak is that teams will now have to announce their playing XIs and four substitute players before the toss, unlike in the IPL where captains brought two team sheets for the coin flip and finalised the XI after the toss.

Bowlers being allowed to deliver two bouncers in an over is "to balance the contest between bat and ball," according to a BCCI release after its 19th Apex Council meeting held in Mumbai on Friday. The T20 tournament is scheduled to be held from October 16 to November 6 this year, after the Irani Cup and before the Vijay Hazare Trophy (50-over competition).

The Apex Council meeting also confirmed India's participation at the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou in September, for both men's and women's teams. "Considering the overlap of schedule of the Asian Games with ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, BCCI will select from the players not participating in the World Cup to play in the Asian Games," the release said.

The BCCI also plans to formulate policies around the participation of Indian cricketers in overseas T20 competitions. Currently, only players retired from all forms of Indian cricket can feature in overseas leagues but recently there have been a string of retired cricketers who have opted to play overseas.

There was also a two-pronged proposal to upgrade the stadiums in India. While the grounds hosting the ODI World Cup games will get immediate attention, rest of the venues will be upgraded in the second phase of the upgradation plan.