The ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) has increased the debate about maintaining balance between bat and ball. ipl 2026 Many high scoring matches as well as some low scoring games have been produced so far.
This season, there have been several games with more than 240 runs in an innings, while the lowest score recorded in an innings in IPL 2026 is 75. Last night, when Royal Challengers Bangalore were up against Mumbai Indians, the target score was 167, which presented an evenly balanced contest between bat and ball.
Should BCCI protect the bowlers?
Despite some high-scoring matches, as some games have been average scoring, the question remains, ‘Should the BCCI implement a special rule for bowler safety?’
cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has said some interesting things in his latest column. Gavaskar explains that in a 20 over match, many beneficial rules are applied for a batsman, while bowlers are also entitled to get support through some special rules.
The great batsman proposed to give an extra over to the bowler who bowled well in the match. For example, Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 4 wickets in 4 overs. According to Sunil Gavaskar’s proposal, the bowler should be allowed to bowl one more extra over in the spell.
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Sunil Gavaskar has proposed a new rule for bowlers in IPL
“The restriction of only four overs for a bowler may be reconsidered. If a batsman can bat the full 20 overs, why can’t a bowler who takes three wickets in his four overs be allowed to bowl one more over as a reward for those wickets?”
Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day, “This way, teams will try to take wickets rather than just trying to save runs. After all, the best dot ball is the wicket-taking dot ball, isn’t it? Yes, you can imagine three bowlers taking three wickets and an extra over each.”
“It will significantly level the playing field in a format where almost everything is stacked against the bowlers. Look at short boundaries, the strict interpretation of wides for bouncers that go marginally over the batsman’s head, etc.”
“Therefore, giving the bowlers and fielding captains incentives to take wickets and not just be defensive from the first ball would be worth a try,” he said.
Sunil Gavaskar is also worried about the venue
The former India captain is worried about the trend of holding matches on batting-friendly tracks. He talked about the domestic tournament, where different pitches are used across the country, and grounds with the most batting-friendly nature can be chosen to host IPL games.
Sunil Gavaskar says, “With every new playing situation, it can be tested in many city leagues to come. Then, in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, I found that it is a format which is more suited for batting, which can be used in next year’s IPL or maybe the next cycle of IPL starting from 2028.”
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