IPL 2026 captain's meet: When, where and the complete agenda

Mumbai, March 25 — In a tightly packed two-hour window that begins at 4:30 pm on Wednesday, the skippers of all IPL franchises will assemble at the BCCI headquarters for the season’s mandatory captains’ meeting, an annual forum that this year carries added weight because of a fresh slate of playing-condition tweaks and lingering questions over on-field protocols.

IPL COO Hemang Amin will open proceedings before handing the floor to Javagal Srinath, head of the BCCI’s match referees, and Nitin Menon, who leads the umpires’ panel. Their brief is to walk the captains through the key adjustments circulated to teams last week, with the bulk of discussion expected to centre on the re-formulated ball-replacement regulations, the two-bouncer allowance, bat-check protocols, the retired-out clause, the continued ban on saliva use and the mechanics of the Impact Player rule.

While most clauses appear unchanged on first reading, Rule 4.4 has been rewritten in unusual detail. It now formalises a three-tier protocol for ball changes during evening fixtures:

- If the ball is lost, damaged or misshapen before the 10-over mark, umpires will replace it with one of comparable wear and the fielding side retains its single optional change after the 10th over. - The bowling captain may request that discretionary change only at the end of an over, not mid-over, and only once in the second innings irrespective of dew. - Once the side has exercised that right, any further change is solely at the umpires’ discretion.

The captains will also be taken through revisions to the codes governing deliberate short runs, the positioning of fielders partially beyond the boundary rope, and the combination of player and umpire reviews. Briefings on the toss procedure, exchange of team sheets, broadcast obligations and post-match awards will round out the agenda before the session closes at 6 pm.