31 March 2025 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau): League (IPL) and so the tone set for the season seems to now be pretty clear – go big or go home. That has been the case for most matches, with a few notable exceptions of course. A key feature of this approach has been batters’ willingness to hit as many sixes as possible in the powerplay and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has said that changes need to be made to the conditions accordingly to ensure that the bowlers don’t get left behind.
In his column for Mid-Day, Gavaskar has said that dimensions of the ground needs to be increased and the boundary ropes can be pushed back. “While the batters’ approach in the Powerplay has changed drastically, what hasn’t changed is the size of the boundaries,” said the Indian batting great.
Out of the 22 innings that have been played by the teams in 11 matches, six have gone beyond 200 and the Sunrisers Hyderabad nearly broke their own record for highest ever IPL score by smashing 286/6 in Match 2 against Rajasthan Royals. Gavaskar said that there is enough space behind the LED advertising boards before the stands start.
“This despite there being more space beyond the LED advertising boards which can be pushed almost to the fence. So often we see sixers just clearing the boundary line, which could well result in a dismissal if the LED boards were pushed back and with it the boundary lines by a few metres, which could well give the bowlers a wicket instead of a six against their names,” he said.
Gavaskar also called for the prize money distributed to the players at the end of matches to be increased. “Another thing where the size has remained the same is the cash awards from sponsors at the end of the match. While the title sponsorship and other sponsorships, plus broadcast revenue has grown incredibly, the Player of the Match is getting pretty much the same he got way back in 2008. Now that IPL has entered its adulthood, will the prize money also increase like our parents increased our pocket money when we finished school and started college,” said Gavaskar.
Summary: Gavaskar suggests increasing boundary size and prize money in IPL to balance the six-hitting trend and support bowlers.