🏏 Declaring an IPL Winner During a Crisis: Why D/L Won’t Work and a BG Law (New Rule) That Could

Hi My dear Readers,

The 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season has taken a dramatic and unfortunate turn. With just 12 league matches and 4 playoff games remaining,

The BCCI has indicated that the remaining matches may be rescheduled for later in the year, depending on the resolution of the current conflict. As of now, no specific dates have been announced for the resumption of the tournament.

If the BCCI is forced to suspend the tournament due to rising geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan. While safety and national interest come first, millions of cricket fans are now wondering: Who will be crowned the IPL 2025 champion?

Let’s dive into this question through a cricketing lens.

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🎯 Why We Can’t Use the Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) Method:

The Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) method, now known as the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, is one of the most ingenious creations in cricket analytics. It’s designed for adjusting targets in rain-affected limited-overs matches, based on remaining overs and wickets.

✅ Use case: One-off matches, especially ODIs and T20s.
❌ Not suitable: Multi-team leagues, full tournaments, or deciding champions.

So, applying DLS to determine the winner of a 70-match tournament makes no mathematical or cricketing sense.

🚨 The Dilemma: Who Wins the IPL 2025?

As of the today (09-05-2025), the points table looks like this:

Rank	Team	Matches	Wins	Points	NRR
1	Gujarat Titans	11	8	16	+1.15
2	Royal Challengers BLR	11	8	16	+0.89
3	Punjab Kings	10	7	14	+0.78
4	Mumbai Indians	12	7	14	+0.45

Several teams still had chances to qualify. But with no further matches possible, how do we decide a fair winner?

Proposed Solution: BG (BasGir) Law – For Tournament Suspension Situations

As a cricket expert and fan of fair play, I propose a new rule called:

BG Law – Declaring a Winner in an Incomplete Tournament

BG.1 Purpose

To establish a fair, transparent method for determining a tournament winner when unforeseen events (war, disaster, pandemic) halt league progress.

BG.2 Applicability

This law applies when:

1. At least 50% of league matches are completed.
2. The tournament is officially suspended or cancelled due to external circumstances.

BG.3 Determination Criteria

    BG.3.1 Points Table Method (Primary Option):

1. The team with the highest points shall be declared the provisional winner.
2. If points are tied, the team with the better Net Run Rate (NRR) is preferred.

    BG.3.2 Mini Playoff Option (If Feasible):

1. If possible within 30 days, conduct a short playoff among the top 4 teams.
2. The winner of this mini tournament is declared the official champion.

    BG.3.3 No Winner Scenario:

1. If less than 50% of matches are played, declare the season as “Abandoned – No Result”.

BG.4 Additional Guidelines

1. Player awards (e.g., Orange Cap, Purple Cap) will be based on completed matches.
2. All match statistics remain valid and part of official records.
3. Final decisions rest with the Tournament Governing Council.

🏆 What This Means for IPL 2025

If BG Law were adopted:

1. Gujarat Titans would be the provisional winner of IPL 2025 based on points and NRR.
2. If conditions improve, a short playoff among the top 4 could still be played.
3. If not, the Gujarat Titans would go down in history as the IPL 2025 Champions under exceptional circumstances.

🧠 Final Thoughts

While fans will always prefer a grand final with fireworks, we must accept that cricket, like life, sometimes needs backup plans. The D/L method saved rain-affected matches. It’s time we have a method to handle tournament-level disruptions with equal precision and fairness.

Let’s hope this season is the last to suffer such a fate—and that future cricket laws rise to the occasion.

From

Girish Kallihal.