IPL 2025: Use Of Saliva And Two balls Not Enough; BCCI is Taking Bold Move

The bowlers have ruled over the great batters for many years. It was achievable because both of them had equal opportunities available, but the pendulum is moving slowly, and it is tilting towards batsmen more, particularly in the richest cricket league of the world, the IPL. The gears are moving very rapidly and scoring 200 runs is now becoming an amateur job. This has demoralized the bowlers and has begun to raise questions regarding the future of the game. Cricket stakeholders are worried about how to ensure that this sport does not turn into a batter’s paradise.

BCCI attempted to maintain balance this season by making two significant changes aimed at supporting the bowlers. The first one was the relaxation of using saliva, which had been prohibited by the ICC in the COVID days. The second one was permission for the fielding side to replace the ball after 10 overs, in case the dew sets in. These were provisions recognized by every bowler.

BCCI’s thought was well intentioned, but it hasn’t worked. The spectators have been watching high-scoring matches. In the initial 30 matches of IPL 2025, the 200-run barrier has been crossed 19 times. Crossing the elusive 200-run barrier was a challenging feat and it ensured victory. But that’s history now. On April 12, Sunrisers Hyderabad chased a massive total of 246 against Punjab Kings.

Reason Behind This Move by BCCI

IPL has witnessed so many fine batsmen who are able to play at 200+ strike rate earlier but the way of ball striking that we see today is unheard of before. So what happened? Is the skill of the batsmen improved, or they have become more courageous? And if so then why?

There can be various reasons for this run fest, but the one that stands out is the addition of the Impact Player rule, where teams are permitted to field an additional batsman who can come in after any wicket and bat freely. This provided teams with the depth they needed, and while bowling teams have also been provided with an additional option, the impact has not been sufficient.

The average strike rate of a batsman was 138 before the Impact Player rule. Now it has reached 157. This has also affected most of the IPL greats.