Kamal Ghorui
The balance between bat and ball in modern-day cricket has once again come under the spotlight, with Sunil Gavaskar voicing strong concerns over how heavily the game now favours batters 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 being left with very little protection. The former India captain pointed to shorter boundaries, stricter fielding restrictions and the growing power of modern bats as key reasons behind the growing imbalance.Writing in his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar specifically questioned the current interpretation of the wide bouncer rule. According to him, fast bowlers are being unfairly penalised when a short ball passes only slightly above the batter’s head.“There’s the ‘wide ball’ call for a bouncer going barely over the batter’s head. This is like asking a fast bowler to bowl with one hand tied behind his back,” Gavaskar wrote.He argued that while grounds still have enough space to push boundaries further back, bowlers are instead being put under even more pressure through strict laws. Gavaskar suggested that pacers should be allowed a little more margin when bowling bouncers.“If that rule can be tweaked to allow the quick a margin of one foot, approximately the length of the bat handle, above the head while in his batting stance, that would give the fast bowler some relief and encouragement to fire in some more,” he added.Gavaskar also revisited an earlier period in limited-overs cricket when bouncers were completely banned. He recalled how lower-order batters were promoted as pinch-hitters because they knew bowlers could not attack them with short-pitched deliveries.“This is not to pat my back, but when I took over as Chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee, the other members joined me in bringing the bouncer back in the format, albeit one per over per batsman. The pinch-hitters disappeared. More importantly, the bowlers got one of their weapons back,” he wrote.The batting great further questioned why bowlers should face restrictions when batters are free to attempt any shot they want.“You don’t restrict a batter from playing any shot, do you? So why restrict the bowlers from trying all the varieties that they possess?” Gavaskar said.The former opener also directed his appeal towards Sourav Ganguly, urging the current ICC Cricket Committee chairman to consider measures that could restore some balance in the sport.“So, c’mon Sourav Ganguly, when you chair the next ICC Cricket Committee meeting, spare a thought for the bowling fraternity too,” Gavaskar concluded.
