“We must have a Bonus Point”: Aakash Chopra propounds rule change in T20 World Cup points system

Aakash Chopra propounds rule change: The former Indian batter proposed a new rule with respect to points system.

The 18th match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup between South Africa and Zimbabwe has been reduced to a nine-over contest due to inclement weather conditions in Hobart.

Although the 17th match between Netherlands and Bangladesh in the afternoon didn’t witness any weather interruption at the same venue, the start of this match got delayed by over a couple of hours.

Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine won the toss and chose to bat in anticipation of a 20-over innings but had to walk out to bat alongside wicket-keeper batter Regis Chakabva knowing that he would have to accelerate from the word go.

Aakash Chopra propounds rule change in T20 World Cup points system

Former India batter Aakash Chopra, who is part of Star Sports Network’s Hindi commentary roaster for this World Cup, took to social media platform Twitter to propound a rule change with respect to the points system.

Chopra, 45, suggested that ICC (International Cricket Council) should initiate bonus points in T20 World Cups. Chopra’s thought behind saying so was inspired particularly from matches which get abandoned due to rain.

In the general run of things, both teams share a point each in abandoned matches. However, the nature of the beast is such that losing a point to rain has it in it to affect a team’s probability of qualifying for the next round, i.e., semi-finals.

We must have a Bonus Point in the #T20WorldCup
No team can afford a rained out game…Bonus point, at least, allows you a serious chance of making up for a lost point.

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 24, 2022

Although the weather will always remain an uncontrollable factor in sport, bonus points would give teams opportunities of making up for lost points due to poor weather. For the unversed, a bonus points is generally awarded for a team winning a match by a gargantuan margin (like 10 wickets or a certain number of runs).

Other than the bonus point, former India pacer Ajit Agarkar also put forward a clause regarding teams getting to change their Playing XIs before the start of a rain-affected match such as the one being played at the Blundstone Arena. Agarkar’s rationale behind the same was teams’ strategies having it in them to get changed in such a shortened contest.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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