Sunil Gavaskar (PTI Photo) The bat-ball balance in modern cricket has once again come under the spotlight, with Sunil Gavaskar expressing strong concerns about how much the game now favors batsmen in the T20 era.With massive scores becoming routine in the ongoing IPL 2026 season and totals above 250 no longer considered safe, Gavaskar believes bowlers are left with very little protection. The former Indian captain pointed to shorter boundaries, tighter shooting restrictions and the growing power of modern batsmen as key reasons for the growing imbalance.
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Rajat Patidar ponders RCB defeat, praises Devdutt PadikkalGavaskar, writing in his column for Sportsstar, specifically questioned the current interpretation of the wide bouncer rule. According to him, fast bowlers are unfairly penalized when a short ball flies just slightly over the batsman’s head.“There is a ‘wide ball’ call for a bouncer that barely goes over the batsman’s head. It’s like asking a fast bowler to bowl with one hand tied behind his back,” Gavaskar wrote.He argued that while grounds still have plenty of room to move the boundaries further back, bowlers are instead being put under even more pressure through strict laws. Gavaskar suggested that pacers should be allowed a bit more latitude when bowling bouncers.“If this rule can be modified to allow the fast overhead in the batting stance a distance of one foot, about the length of the bat handle, it would give the fast bowler some relief and encouragement to fire more,” he added.Gavaskar also returned to the earlier era of limited overs cricket where bouncers were completely banned. He recalled how the lower-order batsmen were promoted as splitters because they knew the bowlers couldn’t attack them with short deliveries.“This is not a pat on the back, but when I took over as chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee, the other members joined me in bringing bouncers back in the format, albeit one for more to each batsman. Pinch-hitters disappeared. More importantly, bowlers got one of their weapons back,” he wrote.The batsman went on to question why the bowlers should face restrictions when the batsmen can hit at will.“You don’t restrict the batsmen from playing any stroke, do you? So why restrict the bowlers from trying all the kinds they have?” Gavaskar said.The former opener also directed his challenge towards Sourav Ganguly, urging the current chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee to consider measures that could restore some balance to the sport.“Come on Sourav Ganguly, when you chair the next meeting of the ICC Cricket Committee, think about the bowling fraternity as well,” concluded Gavaskar.
