"Was Surya's catch of David Miller in the final legal as per today's rules?" - Aakash Chopra on ICC's new fielding law

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that the catch Suryakumar Yadav took in the 2024 T20 World Cup final would have been legal even if the International Cricket Council's (ICC) new fielding laws had been applicable then. However, he highlighted that a few other catches, like the one Michael Neser took in a Big Bash League (BBL) game, will no longer be valid.

The ICC recently changed a few laws across formats. Apart from boundary-line catches, laws regarding the two balls used in ODIs and concussion substitutes across formats have been changed.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener wondered whether the ICC's new law disallowing bunny-hop catches would have made Suryakumar's catch illegal.

"Neser took a catch by going behind the ropes and doing a bunny hop, and we all said 'Wow, what a catch.' He was not alone. After that, (Glenn) Maxwell also took one catch, and there are a lot more, but it won't happen now. The ICC have changed the laws. This bunny hop thing is not allowed. So was Surya's catch of David Miller in the final legal as per today's rules?" he said (0:01).

Chopra pointed out that David Miller would have been out even as per the new law, considering Suryakumar landed inside the boundary rope after he touched the ball the second time.

"When you take the catch, your first contact is from within the ground. However, then when you jump in the air and hit the ball, the second contact with the ball should bring you back into the playing field. That's why the Neser catch will not be legal. SKY's catch was legal even with the new rules," he observed.

South Africa needed 16 runs off the final over in the 2024 T20 World Cup final. Suryakumar Yadav took a spectacular catch at long-off to dismiss David Miller off the first ball of Hardik Pandya's over to help India win the game by seven runs.

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"You feel the format was different when Sachin paaji played ODIs" - Aakash Chopra on ICC's new two-ball law

The ball used to be changed after 34 overs in the latter stages of Sachin Tendulkar's ODI career. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that the ODI format has seen the most law changes in recent times, highlighting that the format seems to be very different from the one in Sachin Tendulkar's era.

"If any format has seen the most law changes, it's ODI. You feel the format was different when Sachin paaji played ODIs because so many changes have been made after that. The impact sub (in the IPL) has come now, but a Super Sub had come earlier. The field restriction rules have been changed 25 times," he said (3:10).

The cricketer-turned-commentator opined that the new two-ball law, where one of the balls will be retained after the 34th over, will potentially help reduce the batters' dominance slightly.

"A new rule change that has come now is that when the match starts, there will be two new balls, but once 17 overs each are bowled with both balls, you will be asked which ball you want to bowl the 35th over with. You will bowl all the remaining overs with the ball you choose. They are trying to get a little parity between bat and ball as the bat dominates a little more if you play with two balls," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra pointed out that the new concussion law requires each potential substitute to be categorized based on their skills. He noted that Harshit Rana won't be able to replace Shivam Dube now, as was done by India in the T20I series against England earlier this year, unless both players belong to the same category.