The Indian Premier League (IPL) is an extreme tournament. It is common to see players go to the limit regarding their bodies just to contribute the maximum possible for their teams.
Thus, it brings a roughness easily on the field. However, in all this, the situation can escalate very fast between players or even team officials, and an improper reaction could happen.
Do you recall the confrontation between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir during the 2023 season?
In fact, both received punishment for the disagreement. Nevertheless, in order to prevent such cases, the IPL is introducing a demerit points system in the 2025 season, just like the one in the ICC’s demerit points system.
Demerit Points System Operate in The IPL?
First of all, the match referee will identify and penalise players for their misconduct in a match. According to the degree of misconduct, the match referee will assign demerit points and even a fine.
If a player commits a minor or level 1 offence, he will receive 1 demerit point. The player will also have to pay 25 percent of his match fees as a fine.
If the player repeats the offence or commits a serious one, then the match referee will give three or four demerit points. The fine will become 50 percent of the match fees in this case.
And if it’s a serious offence, then the player will receive five to eight demerit points. The fine amount will be 75 percent
Demerit Points System in IPL:
- A. Level 1: 1 demerit point
- B. Level 2: 3 to 4 demerit points
- C. Level 3: 5 to 8 demerit points
What do the demerit points mean after a long time? Well, if a player gets a certain amount of demerit points then those will be switched into suspension points.
Now, suspension points are what, exactly?
Suspension points are the ones that decide how many matches a player will be banned from being in the field during the IPL. For example, a player that gets four to seven demerit points will be given one suspension point. This means the player will be suspended from playing a single game.
In the same way, eight to eleven demerit points will mean a two-match ban, twelve to fifteen will mean a three-match ban, whereas more than sixteen points will result in an absence of five matches for the player.
Suspension of Players in IPL:
- I. 4 to 7 demerit points: Ban for one match
- II. 8 to 11 demerit points: Ban for two matches
- III. 12 to 15 demerit points: Ban for three matches
- IV. 16 and more demerit points: Ban for five matches
How long will a player keep the demerit points?
A player will have the demerit points for 36 months or three years. The points will be kept in the record for the rolling period.
After the completion of three years, the old demerit points will no longer be there. And if a player gets a certain number of demerit points during the rolling period, he or she will be subjected to suspension.




