The Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to introduce Hawk-Eye technology to make precise decisions on wides outside off-stump and over-the-head deliveries in the upcoming IPL 2025. This advanced system will ensure accuracy in umpiring and remove human errors in whether a delivery outside the off-stump or above the batter’s head should be called a wide.
The decision was officially approved by the IPL committee and shared with all ten team captains during a meeting held in Mumbai on Thursday, March 20, ahead of the upcoming IPL 2025. The upcoming season will kick off with the defending champions KKR taking on RCB in the tournament opener at Eden Gardens in Kolkata starting on March 22.
Hawk-Eye to track wides and over-the-head deliveries in IPL 2025
As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the same ball-tracking technology was used for waist-high no-ball calls in IPL 2024, and it will now be used for the over-the-head wides to ensure a fair and consistent decision-making process in the world’s biggest T20 franchise league.
The Hawk-Eye system will track the height of the ball as it crosses the batter at the popping crease and compare it to the batter’s pre-recorded head height in an upright stance. The system will automatically declare the ball as wide if it exceeds this height.
Each player’s head height will be pre-recorded and stored in a database to ensure accuracy. This means that the process will be completely automated to make sure there is no error in the on-field judgment calls by umpires and enhance the fairness of decision-making in the tournament.
IPL to use Hawk-Eye for wides and no-balls
Meanwhile, the IPL is also bringing another major technological upgrade to ensure more accurate umpiring decisions. From the upcoming IPL 2025 season, Hawk-Eye technology will be used to automate wide ball decisions, which means the subjectivity in wide calls will be completely removed.
The wide guideline will now move with the batter. If a batter moves one foot outside off-stump, the wide guideline will also shift by the same distance to ensure fair calls. The Hawk-Eye system will automatically track both the batter’s movement and the adjusted wide guideline.
And the TV umpire, who can see the movement on the screen, will decide if a ball is wide based on whether the ball landed inside or outside the revised guideline. However, this process will not be shown on TV broadcasts as it will be visible only to the TV umpire.
Smart Replay System continue to be used in the IPL
However, a few key rules remain unchanged, including the return crease (marked in white) will not move, as well as the new dynamic wide guideline system will only apply to off-side wides, not leg-side wides. Last year, the IPL became the first league to use ball-tracking technology to assess over-the-waist no-balls.
Additionally, the Smart Replay System, which was introduced last season in the Indian Premier League, will also be used in the upcoming IPL 2025 to make decisions faster and more accurate.
