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NEW DELHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has introduced a range of changes to playing conditions in Test, ODI, and T20I formats, focusing on over rates, ball usage, boundary catches, concussion substitutes, and wides.STOP CLOCKIn an effort to improve over rates and reduce delays, a stop clock—already trialled in white-ball formats—will now be a permanent feature in Test cricket. Fielding teams must start a new over within 60 seconds of completing the previous one. Teams will receive two warnings per innings; any further breaches will result in a five-run penalty. These warnings reset every 80 overs, in line with the new ball availability.ODI BALL USAGE RULE CHANGEDIn ODIs, the use of two balls will now be limited to the first 34 overs. For the final 16 overs, the fielding side will select one of the two balls to continue with. This move aims to manage ball wear and tear more effectively.NEW BOUNDARY CATCH RULEFielders making airborne contact with the ball beyond the boundary must now land completely inside the field of play to complete a legal catch. If they step out and jump again, they are allowed only one more touch before landing inside the boundary.

CONCUSSION SUBSTITUTES & MANDATORY RESTTeams will now be required to pre-nominate concussion substitutes. Any player diagnosed with a concussion must observe a mandatory seven-day rest period before returning to competitive play.WIDE BALL RULE TRIAL IN WHITE-BALL FORMATSA new wide ball rule will be trialled in white-ball cricket. The batter’s position at the time of delivery—not after moving—will be used as the reference for judging wides. Deliveries that pass between the leg stump and the extended protected area marker at the popping crease will no longer be called wide. However, deliveries passing behind the batter’s legs may still be deemed wide.To assist umpires, the protected area marker will now be extended to the popping crease and serve as a visual guide.DRS The Decision Review System (DRS) will now use the actual physical outline of the stumps and bails to define the wicket zone, enhancing accuracy in LBW decisions.

DELIBERATE SHORT RUNS PENALISED FURTHERIn addition to the existing five-run penalty for a deliberate short run, the fielding team will now be allowed to choose which batter takes strike for the next delivery.DOMESTIC FIRST-CLASS INJURY RULEIn domestic first-class cricket, if a player suffers a serious on-field injury at any point after the match has begun (including during warm-ups), they can be replaced by a like-for-like player for the remainder of the game.The new Test playing conditions took effect from the Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh Test on June 17. The revised ODI and T20I rules will be implemented from the same series, starting with the first ODI on July 2 and the T20Is from July 10. All international matches beyond these dates will be played under the updated regulations.

Japan has strongly criticised US President Donald Trump for comparing the recent American military strikes on Iran to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II.“That hit ended the war,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “I don’t want to use an example of Hiroshima, I don’t want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing.”The comparison has drawn backlash across Japan, which remains the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks. The bombings in August 1945 killed about 140,000 people, and survivors continue to live with long-term health issues and trauma.Nagasaki mayor Shiro Suzuki responded to Trump’s comment, saying, “If Trump’s comments justifies the dropping of the atomic bomb, it is extremely regrettable for us as a city that was bombed.”Atomic bomb survivor and co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning advocacy group Nihon Hidankyo, Mimaki Toshiyuki, also criticised Trump, saying the remarks were “unacceptable”, as quoted by BBC via Japanese public broadcaster NHK.“I’m really disappointed. All I have is anger,” added Teruko Yokoyama, another member of Nihon Hidankyo, speaking to Kyodo News.In response, survivors and citizens in Hiroshima held a protest on Thursday demanding that Trump retract his statement. Hiroshima lawmakers also passed a resolution rejecting any statement that justifies the use of nuclear weapons and called for all armed conflicts to be resolved peacefully.When asked if Japan would formally lodge a complaint, chief cabinet secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa stated that “Japan has repeatedly expressed its position on atomic bombs to Washington.”Trump’s controversial remarks came as he pushed back against a leaked US intelligence assessment which suggested that recent strikes on Iranian nuclear sites only delayed their programme by a few months.Trump countered that the US attacks “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities and set them back “decades” – a claim also supported by CIA Director John Ratcliffe.The legacy of Hiroshima remains central to Japan’s anti-nuclear stance.

Jairam Ramesh and Dattatreya Hosabale (R)

NEW DELHI: Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Friday sharply criticised the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), saying it has never accepted the Constitution on has been attacking its framers from the very beginning.His remarks came in response to RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, who a day earlier had said that the words “Socialist” and “Secular” were forcibly added to the Constitution and should now be reconsidered.In a post on X, Jairam Ramesh said, “The RSS has NEVER accepted the Constitution of India. It attacked Dr. Ambedkar, Nehru, and others involved in its framing from Nov 30, 1949, onwards. In the RSS’s own words, the Constitution was not inspired by Manusmriti. The RSS and the BJP have repeatedly given the call for a new Constitution. This was Mr Modi’s campaign cry during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The people of India decisively rejected this cry. Yet the demands for changing the basic structure of the Constitution continue to be made by the RSS ecosystem.”He also pointed to a Supreme Court judgment from November 2024 that rejected petitions challenging the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, which had inserted the words “Socialist” and “Secular” into the Preamble. Ramesh commented, “The Chief Justice of India himself delivered a judgment on November 25, 2024, on the issue now being raised by a leading RSS functionary. Would it be asking too much to request him to take the trouble to read it?”The judgment said, “The writ petitions do not require a detailed adjudication as the flaws and weaknesses in the arguments are obvious and manifest. Two expressions—’secular’ and ‘socialist’, and the word ‘integrity’ were inserted in the Preamble vide the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976… The power to amend unquestionably rests with the Parliament. This power to amend extends to the Preamble...”The top court also referenced past landmark rulings, including Kesavananda Bharati v State of Kerala and SR Bommai vs Union of India, which reinforced that secularism is a basic feature of the Constitution.Ramesh further mentioned that the inclusion of the words was reviewed even after the Emergency, during discussions on the 45th Amendment Bill in 1978.Meanwhile, Dattatreya Hosabale, while speaking at a program on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, said,“The Emergency wasn’t just a misuse of power, but an attempt to crush civil liberties. Millions were imprisoned, and freedom of the press was suppressed. He said that those who imposed the Emergency and trampled the Constitution and democracy have never apologised.”