Sophie Devine Urges Review Of Women's Cricket Rules: 'There Needs To Be A Serious Look At...'

New Zealand captain Sophie Devine has urged a review of fielding rules and boundary lengths in women’s cricket, arguing that current conditions overly favour batters.

Under present regulations, no more than four fielders are allowed outside the restricted area during non-powerplay overs, a rule intended to produce more boundaries and provide fans with higher scores for greater entertainment.

In the Women’s Premier League, the maximum boundary length is set at 60 metres, whereas in the men’s tournament, it can extend up to 77 metres.

“There needs to be a serious look at the four-fielders-out rule. We are pretty close to going in line with the men and having five fielders out on the boundary,” Devine told reporters on Thursday.

“We’ve all seen the

power that the women’s game has got now and I don’t think having five fielders out would make a hindrance to the possibility and opportunities to score more runs.”

Devine, who was signed by Gujarat Giants in the 2026 Women’s Premier League auction and ranks among the top five run-scorers and wicket-takers this season, said the regulations are challenging for bowlers.

“The balance is distorted towards batters, especially when you’re playing on wickets that are so flat and offering not too much for the bowlers,” Devine added.

Take On Retire Outs

The all-rounder also commented on the increasing use of the ‘retired-out’ strategy in the WPL, which drew attention after Gujarat’s Ayushi Soni and UP Warriorz’s Harleen Deol exited mid-innings during the tournament’s opening week.

“At the end of the day, those decisions are always made with the team coming first and what’s going to be best for the team to be able to gain momentum,” she said, expressing her preference for this strategy over the impact player rule, which allows teams to substitute a player mid-match.

“I like the idea that you can do all skills, or certainly bat, and still be able to go on the field,” she added.

(With inputs from Agencies)