There are more than a million cricket fans across the globe. Over the years many youngsters have started to love this beautiful game and have started to understand the dynamics of cricket. However, irrespective of what people think, being a cricket fan isn’t as easy as it seems.

Cricket has a lot of rules, including the simple as well the complicated ones. Understanding the complicated rules isn’t as easy as they might seem absurd or rather confusing to our ears but exist within the laws of the game. Out of all the confusing rules in cricket, there are several ones that leave the pundits of the game stunned. 

Here, we take a look at 5 such confusing rules in cricket:

1. Net Run Rate

If you were good at mathematics during your school or college days then we challenge you to understand and decode the Net Run Rate(NRR) process. Run rate calculation has always been troubling for various cricket fans, adding more confusion (and excitement) during a match. The NRR is very important during a tournament or a league. 

Especially in a scenario when two teams have won the same number of matches and have the same number of points. In such a scenario, the team having a superior NRR is the one to qualify to the next stage of the competition. It often comes down to the NRR at the end of the group stage. 

For Example, in 2014 IPL , during the final game of the group stage, it was Mumbai Indians that made it to the playoffs despite not crossing the target within the allotted deliveries, which was supposedly needed to push their NRR above Rajasthan Royals. Actually though, their qualification was completely lawful. They would have still qualified had they hit a boundary off any of their next two balls, as that would have taken them to 193. The final score is the category for NRR calculations, and not the target.

2. Duckworth Lewis Method

We are yet to find a person who has claimed that he/she has fully understood the DLS rule other than those two gentlemen who formulated it. D/L method has acted as a spoilsport on many occasions as it assumes that a team would get to X number of runs.

It works on assumptions as well as current scenarios. They come into play during rain-affected games. Like the NRR, the DLS rule also consists of a lot of mathematics. 

There has been plenty of opposition coming from players for the T20s to have an alternative to this rule. India’s former captain MS Dhoni had once criticized this rule as well.

2. The boundary rope

Despite most of the rules related to the boundary rope seem simple, many rules involving the boundary rope are confusing and specific to say the least. Most of the fielders near the boundary are very dedicated and give it their best to stop the ball from reaching the boundary.

Many times the fielders unintentionally touch the boundary rope while trying to stop the ball, which results in a boundary to the batting team. Fielders sometimes unintentionally push the boundary rope in an attempt to stop the ball. This results in a lot of confusion.

In such a scenario the batting team is awarded 4 runs and it is called a boundary. This is because the fielder pushes the boundary rope slightly further and thus the ball would have ideally hit the rope.

4. Calling back opposition batsman after given out

Have you ever called back a batsman after he has been given out by the umpire during your backyard cricket days? We think not. Umpires are humans after all and even they tend to make decisions that might not be correct. 

In a scenario where the umpire has declared a batsman to be out, the captain of the fielding team can ask the umpire to withdraw it. They can call back a player if they think he was not out and deserves a second chance. However, this is very rare as no opposition would like to reject the opportunity of a wicket. 

During India’s tour to England in 2011, the then Indian skipper MS Dhoni had called back Ian Bell after he was declared ‘Run Out’. This move by MS Dhoni was highly applauded by all the cricket pundits. This move by MS Dhoni is considered as an act of sportsmanship even today.

5. Calling Wide for Switch Hit

Wide deliveries might be the simplest to call but the most difficult deliveries to judge. For instance, take a case where the batsman takes a step or two outside the stumps; here, it would not be correct to call a wide even if the ball crosses the marked line. But on specific occasions, if the batsman just wanders in his crease and stays back in his usual stance and the bowler sprays wide, the umpire might be confused whether the batsman was moving for the ball and came back in during the time of delivery.

‘Switch Hit’ is one such shot that has managed to confuse everyone including the umpires. When a batsman changes his stance, it gets hard to judge a wide delivery. A batsman moving across the wicket tends to confuse the umpire, this ultimately leads to a wrong decision.

Players like Kevin Pietersen, David Warner, and Jos Buttler often play such shots and thus it gets confusing for an umpire to judge a wide delivery.

~Written Arvind Kalyana Krishnan