A wicketkeeper's gloves drift a few inches in front of the stumps while the bowler is still ten paces into the run-up. Nobody appeals, nothing happens, the over carries on as normal. Until this year, that small drift was technically a no-ball waiting to be spotted. Under a new law it no longer is.
The BCCI has already adopted the change for its 2026-27 domestic season, which starts next month with the Duleep Trophy, months before the worldwide version of the law takes effect on 1 October 2026. By the end of this you will know what the old wicketkeeping law required, what has changed and what still gets a keeper penalised.
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What law 27 says about the wicketkeeper's position
The wicketkeeper is the only fielder allowed to wear gloves, and normally has the most technical job in the field, watching flight and bounce closely enough to take a stumping or a return catch. That broader job, the wicketkeeper's job, is covered elsewhere on this site. The position law is narrower and more specific. Law 27.3 of the MCC Laws of Cricket says the keeper must remain wholly behind the wicket at the striker's end from the moment the ball comes into play, which in practice has always meant from the moment the bowler starts the run-up, until the ball touches the bat or the striker's body, passes the striker's wicket or the striker attempts a run.
Break that rule and the striker's end umpire calls and signals a no-ball, the same signal used for an overstepped delivery. The keeper does not need to do anything dramatic to fall foul of it. Leaning forward too early, or letting the gloves creep level with the stumps while still set for the previous ball, has always been enough.
What actually changed, and when
From 1 October 2026, the fourth edition of the MCC's Code of Laws relaxes this. A wicketkeeper's gloves no longer have to be wholly behind the stumps for the whole of the bowler's run-up. They only have to be behind the stumps at the moment the ball is released. Standing up early, or edging forward for a word with the slip cordon, is now allowed, as long as the gloves are back behind the stumps by the point of release.
Nothing about what happens after release has moved. Once the ball leaves the bowler's hand, the keeper is still barely allowed to shift position before the ball reaches the striker. Taking a pace forward for a slower ball, or moving sideways to follow the ball's line, remain the only written exceptions. The new freedom is specifically about the run-up, not about the delivery itself.
The BCCI has not waited for October. Ahead of the 2026-27 domestic season, which begins next month with the Duleep Trophy, it circulated updated playing conditions to state associations adopting the MCC's new wording early. Its note to umpires on rule 27.3 is direct: a keeper's gloves need only stay behind the wickets at the moment the ball is delivered, not from the start of the run-up as before.
Why umpires bothered to fix something so small
The trigger was television, not complaints from players. Broadcast replays and close scrutiny from the review system let viewers freeze a keeper's gloves at any point in the over, and marginal technical breaches, a glove level with off stump while the bowler was still metres from the crease, started showing up on screen without giving the keeper any real advantage. A law meant to stop keepers cheating position had turned into one that occasionally punished keepers for nothing at all.
The MCC's Laws sub-committee, which reviews the Code several times a year, tied the requirement to the one moment that actually matters: when the bowler lets go of the ball. Before that point, a keeper standing up early or drifting forward gains nothing, because there is no ball in play yet to collect.
Where this still bites
The relaxed timing does not touch the moments that decide dismissals. A keeper still cannot take the ball in front of the stumps until it has passed the striker's bat or body, which is the same principle behind how a stumping is judged: the bails have to come off with the keeper in a legal position, not simply first to the ball. Taking the gloves off early, or fielding on the leg side, are covered by separate parts of the law and are untouched by this change.
It is also worth being precise about which law this is. A keeper penalised for standing too far forward produces a no-ball, exactly like the distinction between a no-ball and a wide comes down to where the fault lies: a bowler's feet in most cases, a keeper's gloves in this one. A keeper being called for position is rare next to a bowler overstepping, but the penalty runs are identical.
| Before 1 October 2026 | From 1 October 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Behind stumps required from | Start of the bowler's run-up | The moment the ball is released |
| Standing up or edging forward during the run-up | A no-ball if noticed | Allowed |
| Movement after release, before the ball reaches the striker | Tightly restricted (Law 27.4) | Unchanged, still tightly restricted |
| Taking the ball in front of the stumps before it passes the bat | Not allowed | Not allowed |
The window in which a wicketkeeper must be wholly behind the stumps, before and after the law change.
Read next
- the distinction between a no-ball and a wide - the other call a keeper's slip-up can trigger, and how umpires tell them apart.
- how a stumping is judged - the same behind-the-stumps position law, but deciding a dismissal rather than a no-ball.
- close scrutiny from the review system - why marginal calls like this one get noticed at all now.
FAQ
Does this mean wicketkeepers can stand wherever they like now?
No. The gloves still have to be behind the stumps by the moment the bowler releases the ball, and after release the keeper's movement stays tightly restricted. Only the period before release has changed.
Is this rule already used in international cricket?
Not yet, formally. The worldwide MCC law takes effect on 1 October 2026. The BCCI has adopted the wording early for Indian domestic cricket from the 2026-27 season, ahead of that global date.
What happens if a wicketkeeper breaks the rule?
The striker's end umpire calls and signals a no-ball, the batting side gets the usual one-run penalty, and any runs scored off the delivery still count.
Why was the old law considered a problem?
It penalised keepers for a position that gave them no advantage, since there is nothing to collect before the ball is bowled. Replay scrutiny made these marginal, harmless breaches visible in a way they never used to be.
Next time you watch a middle-overs setup, follow the keeper's gloves during the run-up rather than the bowler's mark. Before release, where they stand is now the keeper's choice. At the exact moment the ball leaves the hand, it stops being one.
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