Bowlers can be given another over as a reward for wickets

LSG pacer Mohsin Khan (left) celebrates the wicket of KKR’s Rovman Powell in Lucknow on April 26. LSG lost the match via a Super Over despite Mohsin claiming an impressive 5-23. Pic/IPL

This IPL we have seen more centuries being hammered than in earlier editions. With another couple of weeks of matches still left and the Playoffs thereafter, we could possibly see a few more tons being scored before the tournament finishes at the end of May.

This batting feast is thanks to some superb pitches being made by the curators at most of the grounds. There has been no thought of preparing a pitch to suit the home teams' strengths and so we have seen this plethora of sixes and boundaries. The boundaries are easily understood but some of the sixes could be catches if the boundary ropes were extended instead of being brought in, making some grounds look even smaller than they are.

Spicy pitch exposes batters

Yes, the crowd comes in for some big hitting high but there's greater excitement in a match that's on a razors edge and finishes in the final over than the one that finishes around 15th over, where half the crowd is making their way out knowing what the result is going to be. Where the pitches have been a bit spicy, most of the batters have been exposed with their tendency to go on the front foot. So, when the ball comes at their helmets, they are in an awkward position and end up not only getting out but looking very ordinary while doing so. Jofra Archer and Kagiso Rabada, two of the fastest bowlers in world cricket, have made the batters hop and jump even on pitches where there's not been much bounce and carry to the wicketkeeper.

This is where one feels that the restriction of only four overs to a bowler could be looked at again. If a batter can bat the entire 20 overs, why can't a bowler who gets, say, three wickets in his four overs be allowed to bowl another over as a reward for getting those wickets? This way teams will also try getting wickets instead of trying only to save runs being scored. After all, the best dot ball is the wicket-taking dot ball, isn't it? Yes, you could conceivably have three bowlers getting three wickets and an extra over each. That would even up the playing field a fair bit in a format where just about everything is stacked against the bowlers. Look at the small boundaries, the strict interpretation of the wide for a bouncer going marginally over the batter's head and such like. So, giving the bowlers and the fielding captain an incentive to take wickets and not just be defensive from the first ball, would be something worth trying out. As with every new playing condition, it can be trialled in the many city leagues that are coming up. Then in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and then if found that it does level a format which is more batting friendly then it could be used in the next year's IPL or maybe in the next cycle of IPL starting from 2028.

Many years ago when I was in the IPL Governing Council, I had in my personal capacity written to the captains of the eight franchises asking them how the IPL could be made even better than it was. Most replied and while there was no major suggestion, the one from Adam Gilchrist recommending rewarding the teams finishing one and two another crack at the title with the Qualifier and Eliminator was a unique one.

I was pulled up by a member of the Governing Council, who asked with whose authority I had written to the franchise skippers for their suggestions. I told him that I had written in my personal capacity as a former captain and player with the sole intention of seeing how we could make the IPL even better and didn't need anybody's permission to write to them. It was now up to the Governing Council to accept or not. They did and now it's something that each franchise tries to do. Finish in the top two, so they can get another bite of the cherry.

IPL is like our baby

Being invited to be part of the inaugural Governing Council for three years is something I have always cherished. For all those involved then, the
IPL is like our baby and it's such a delight to see the baby grow into such a good looking adult now.

Professional Management Group