Cricket

Cricket's Batting Bonanza: A Tale of Pampered Batters and Endangered BowlersIn the golden age of cricket, the game was known as a "Gentleman's Game." However, in the modern era of Twenty20 cricket, it has transformed into a "Batter's Game." The dominance of batters has become so pronounced that bowlers are facing an existential crisis.During childhood, cricket was a game of skill and strategy. The boy with the bat could not simply dismiss himself at will. However, in the current IPL, batters are pampered with fielding restrictions that make it virtually impossible for bowlers to contain them.The Indian Premier League (IPL) has become a showcase for the batting carnage that has engulfed cricket. In the ongoing edition, batters have been smashing records with impunity. Will Jacks' 41-ball century for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is just one example of the batting frenzy that has gripped the tournament.The strike rates of batters have skyrocketed. Veteran M.S. Dhoni's 229.16 may be an outlier, but even top-order batters are clocking strike rates that would make a Mumbai skyscraper blush. Travis Head, for instance, has a strike rate of 193.62.This batting dominance is not a recent phenomenon. It has been a gradual process that began with Kerry Packer's introduction of pyjama cricket under lights in Australia in the late 1970s. Cricket was no longer just about its classical avatar of Tests, as limited-overs cricket, offering floodlit instant gratification, blended entertainment into sport.As marketing departments realized the appeal of cricket and its ability to attract a new generation of fans, corporates jumped in. This led to a surge in money and celebrity status for cricketers. The over-sized sunshades, low-slung caps, and wave of the hand became synonymous with the game.Branding became an integral part of cricket, and the game played along. Tests continue to exist, but ODIs and T20s have become the cash cows. The shorter the game, the more difficult it is to target a batter's weaknesses. In Tests, bowlers can use a variety of tactics, but in ODIs and T20s, they are severely restricted.The IPL has further emboldened batting units with its impact-player substitution rule. There is always one extra player to fall back upon, giving batters even more freedom to swing for the fences.The result of this batting dominance is a decline in the art of bowling. Bowlers are no longer able to express their skills and are reduced to mere cannon fodder. R. Ashwin's recent social media post about the need to save bowlers is a testament to the crisis that the bowling fraternity is facing.The IPL and other T20 leagues have created a spectacle that is entertaining but ultimately unsustainable. The constant barrage of sixes and fours may provide instant gratification, but it is eroding the fundamental principles of cricket.The game is losing its balance, and it is time for a course correction. Cricket needs to find a way to restore the equilibrium between batters and bowlers. Otherwise, the game we love will become a mere shadow of its former self.