BBL 2020-21: James Neesham Takes A Dig At The Newly Introduced X-Factor Rule

New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham has taken a dig at Big Bash League rules ahead of its upcoming edition. Cricket Australia will impose three new regulations in the forthcoming season of the marquee competition that gets underway from the 10th of December. James Neesham has questioned the X-factor rule, stating what competitive edge the player carries if he is not able to make the starting eleven.

Also Read: BBL 2020-21: Darren Lehmann Prefers The X-Factor Rule Over Previous One-day Cricket SuperSub

Cricket Australia will impose three new rules, one of which is the X-factor player which highlights that the 12th or 13th player could come in as a replacement at the 10th over of the first innings. However, the player replaced could not have batted or can’t have bowled more than over. Apart from that, the BBL has done away with the traditional six-over powerplay and introduced a four-over one at the start.

The remaining two overs could be taken by the batting team at any point after the 11th over of the innings. The third rule entails that the winning team gets four points with three points for an outright victory and one extra for the side ahead of their opposition at the halfway mark of a run-chase. If the teams score same number of runs, they get 0.5 each.

The X-factor rule has not impressed James Neesham in particular. James Neesham, who piled his trade for Kings XI Punjab in the recently concluded IPL 2020, questioned via Twitter how the player with an X-factor could have not possibly been good enough to break into the starting eleven.

Below is James Neesham’s tweet:

How much “X-factor” could a player possibly have if he’s not good enough to make your starting 11? https://t.co/yNabaCuu6e

— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) November 16, 2020