ICC changed rules about Boundary Catches: What will now happen?

Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has made changes in rules regarding boundary catches. This rule will be applied from the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka Test series, which will also begin the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle. When this rule comes into action, lot of boundary catches that will be completed through a ‘bunny hop’ motion, will be deemed invalid.

Michael Neser’s catch sparked this issue:
This decision got taken after the controversy over Michael Neser secured a catch on the boundary line in Big Bash League 2023. Referring to the catch by Neser, the MCC stated that the fielder made a bunny hop before completing the catch inside of the boundary. Though the catch was fair at the time, it looked like fielder stepped out of boundary line a lot of times. This led to the ICC and MCC reviewing their rule 19.5.2.

What is the new rule?
As per the revised rule, a fielder that jumps from outside the boundary line will be allowed to touch the ball only once while he is in the air. He is to then land completely inside the boundary line in order to complete the catch. If there is any other contact in the air outside the rope, or the fielder lands outside after the one touch, it will count as a boundary.

When will the rule get applied?
The ICC is going to implement the changes immediately as part of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, that is going to begin with Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh Test series in Galle from June 17.

The fielders’ last contact with the ground before the first contact, along with the ball must be within the boundary. The only chance is that now multiple touched in the air outside the boundary will now not be allowed.

Along with that, if a fielder touches the ball outside the ropes, even if it is to pass it to the teammate, the player must return to the field to play before the ball is caught or put on the ground once again.