Yup, it’s that time of the year again. When the mercury creeps up rapidly but cricket stadiums are still packed to its rafters. It’s the time when all other cricket pretty much stops. When certain cricket fans cringe at the thought of the daily bombardment of 20-over games for two months. The time when loyalties get divided and losses don’t hurt that much. The time when film producers hesitate to release movies, and ‘news channels’ have daily shows on sports.

Yes, it’s IPL time.

Though every season is said to be special, this year is actually special for IPL and its fans, as the world’s most popular T20 league returns to the home-and-away format for the first time in four years.

The 10 teams playing across 12 venues – Guwahati and Dharamsala being second home venues for Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings, respectively – across the country take the game closer to a wider fanbase. After all, watching on TV doesn’t hold the candle – never mind the banner — to the thrill of being inside the stadium with thousands cheering on every shot and every wicket. Sometimes, just a glimpse of their favourite cricketer is enough to send spectators into a wild roar.

‘I think more travelling makes the tournament more exciting. We’ll get to play in a lot of different venues and in front of many different groups of fans,’ says Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting, adding, ‘It’ll be harder on the players with much more travel. But this is part and parcel of franchise cricket.’

His concerns are, however, genuine. Capitals are playing every alternate game away from home. That means the team will be taking 14 flights in the next 52 days of the league round. Add 14 matches and at least 14 practice days to it, and there is hardly any time for recovery. Defending champions Gujarat Titans and 2016 champions Sunrisers Hyderabad are also in the same boat. Do you see the problem? It gives advantage to some teams.

But this was always the case. It’s probably not possible to make it — literally and figuratively — level-playing field. What’s possible, though, is to take advantage of the new rules. Especially the impact player and naming the playing 11 after the toss. Similar rules have already been used in other tournaments but not bunched together.‘It’s interesting to have new innovations coming into the game,’ says Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma. ‘Only time will tell what happens and how the team will cope with this new rule.’ New MI coach Mark Boucher says the idea of changing the team after the toss would be ‘quite influential’.

‘We are going to have to learn. It is going to be a level playing field after the toss – if you do lose the toss, especially in India, where there is the dew factor. So you just have to adjust,’ says Boucher.

But Royal Challengers Bangalore team director, Mike Hesson, has some reservations. ‘I think [naming the 11 after the toss] has pretty much negated the impact rule. It’s pretty much now a substitute rule. If you bat first, you swap out a batter and bring on an extra bowler [in the second innings] and vice versa. So, after the toss, you just give your batting XI or bowling XI, so there’s no impact rule, it’s pretty much a straight-up substitute,’ Hesson said on the RCB website.

All these new rules, however, make the sport unnecessarily complicated. Naming of the 11 after the toss was perhaps necessary to negate the dew factor. But the impact rule is plain gimmickry. As Rohit says, only time will tell what happens in the future.

What’s certain is the season opener between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans tonight.

And before we sign off, a milestone alert: IPL will have its 1000th match on May 6, between CSK and MI. But till then, please don’t hold your breath. Because you probably won’t be able to.