The 14th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) to begin on 09 April. The first match of this season will be played in Chennai on 9 April. Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), taking a major decision, has removed the soft signal rule from the Indian Premier League

Indian team captain Virat Kohli also demanded that the soft signal rule should be removed as such decisions could change the trend of the match.

The BCCI has made it clear that there is no need to give soft signals to the ground umpire before sending a decision to the third umpire in IPL 2021.

As we know that in the recently played T20 series between India and England, the rules of soft signals were in the headlines.

What is a Soft signal decision ?

When the situation is not clear with any close catch or an intricate wicket, the on-field umpire asks the third umpire to check it again. However, before the third umpire, the on-field umpire has to negotiate with his associate umpire and give his decision. This is called a soft signal decision.

India vs England soft signal Controversy

During the Indian innings in the fourth T20 between India and England, when Suryakumar Yadav was batting for 57 runs, he played the scoop shot off the pace bowler Sam Karran. The ball went to David Malan standing on a deep fine leg and he claimed to take a catch.

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However, the catch was not clean, so the on-field umpire sought the help of the third umpire. But under the rule, the on-field umpire has to declare his decision as well and the umpire in his decision called Suryakumar out.

After this, when the third umpire watched TV replays several times, but he could not find any clear evidence of being caught. Despite this, the third umpire gave the decision according to the on-field umpire and Suryakumar had to return to the pavilion while the TV replays clearly showed that the ball had touched the ground.