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'Bowlers will be reduced to programmed bowling machines': Gautam Gambhir urges ICC to look into ODI rules
Gambhir in particular has urged the ICC to give consideration to three rules of ODI cricket, which if persisted with, he believes, can make ODI cricket extremely batsman-friendly and reduce the role of bowlers.
Gautam Gambhir has requested the International Cricket Council to re-look the rules of ODI cricket. Gambhir tweeted his concerns after England's thrashing of India by six wickets in the second game of the series in Pune, where a total of 673 runs were scored. Gambhir in particular has urged the ICC to give consideration to three rules of ODI cricket, which if persisted with, he believes, can make ODI cricket extremely batsman-friendly and reduce the role of bowlers.
"The rules of the game seem so lopsided in favour of batsmen that bowlers seem redundant, 'also rans'. @ICC urgently needs to relook at the circle rule, two new balls and bouncer restrictions. Otherwise, bowlers will be reduced to programmed bowling machines @bcci," Gambhir tweeted to ICC and the BCCI.
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It was way back in 2011 that the ICC had introduced the concept of two new balls being operated from two ends in ODI cricket, which over the years, has worked heavily in favour of the batsmen, especially with the advent of T20 cricket. ODI matches over the past few years have produced run fests, leaving bowlers with very little to desire. Since there are two new balls, neither one gets old enough for the bowlers to generate reverse swing in the later stages of the innings.
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As for the bouncer rule, only one bouncer is allowed per over to the bowler, which again takes restricts bowler’s advantage. Then there are the fielding restrictions, divided into three Powerplays. In the first powerplay from overs 1-10, only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle. In the next 30 overs, i.e. – from 11-40, four fielders are allowed and in the last 10 overs, five fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle.
Back in 2018, when England had posted a world record total of 481/6 against Australia, bettering their own previous best of 444, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar had expressed his concern, calling the two new balls rule a 'recipe for disaster'. Over the years, his sentiments have been echoed by several former cricketers such as Waqar Younis and Sourav Ganguly to name a few.
