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Cricket PlayersSunil Gavaskar's fiery message to BCCI amid IPL 2024 batting carnages: 'It's not exciting... bowlers are suffering'
Sunil Gavaskar nearly lost his calm on air as he reckoned that the “bowlers are suffering” amid the rising 200-plus totals in IPL.
IPL 2024 has been a batter's season. In just 35 matches so far, 15 times has the 200-run marl been breached, five of which which went past 250. Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have been the most explosive batting unit, have scored three of those totals, one of which was on display at the Arun Jaitley Stadium against Delhi Capitals on Saturday. Despite the batting carnages, while South Africa legend Dale Steyn sees it as an opportunity for bowlers to stand out with economical shows, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar sent a fiery message to BCCI calling for protection of bowlers.
On Saturday, SRH clobbered 266/7 in 20 overs, of which 125 runs were scored in the powerplay with Travis Head leading the charge with his 16-ball 50 en route to 89 off just 32 balls.
Amid the batting assault from SRH, who hold the record for the two highest team totals in IPL history, both notched up this season, Gavaskar was left vexed on air as he made a suggestion to the BCCI on how the bowlers can be protected.
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Speaking to fellow India legend Anjum Chopra, Gavaskar said that that boundary ropes can be pushed a little more back, especially at smaller venues, as he pointed out the gap between the advertisement board and the fence where where the stands begin.
“I wouldn't suggest any changes to a cricket bat because they are all within regulations, but I have been saying this for a long time, increase the size of the boundary at every ground. Look at this ground today, there is enough space to take it back a little more by a couple of metres. It can often prove to be the difference between a catch and a sixer. You can push that LED or advertisement boards even further so that the boundary rope can go back by 2-3 metres and that will make a difference. Otherwise, the bowlers are the only ones who will suffer,” he said.
Nearly losing his calm, the former India batter reckoned that while the power-hitting in T20 cricket might be exciting to watch, it tends to get boring eventually, implying at the lack of contest between batters and bowlers.
“What we have been seeing in T20 cricket over the last few days is that this is batting like the coach tells in the nets, 'This is the last round,' and everybody starts swinging their bat around bang, bang whether they get out or not. It's enjoyable to a little extent, but after that it gets...not so exciting. I wanted to use a stronger word, but no,” he added.
