Lucknow Super Giants’s Shardul Thakur wants fairer pitches in the Indian Premier League as the pace bowling all-rounder calls on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to get rid of “entertainment factors”. Speaking ahead of LSG’s first game at home against the Punjab Kings, Thakur spoke on behalf of all bowlers stating that batting friendly pitches and the impact player rule have made it tougher for the bowlers to survive in the competition as the contest between bat and ball becomes more skewed towards the former.
“Gives us a fair chance”
“A lot of them (bowlers) might not be outspoken or they might not get a chance to speak in front of media or give interviews about the pitch conditions. All that the bowlers are asking is to prepare the pitch in such a manner that the game hangs in balance and it should not be just one-sided where batters are coming and smashing us, because all we want is a fair chance and fair opportunity in the game,” Thakur is quoted as saying to the press.
Continuing on from 2024, when the Impact Player rule was introduced, IPL 2025 has been a run fest in the 11 matches so far. Teams have breached the 200-run mark on 10 occasions with Sunrisers Hyderabad, led by Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma at the top of order, registering the highest score in the season so far at 286/6 in their open game against Rajasthan Royals. SRH has a habit of putting up big totals as it occupies 4 of the top 5 totals. It registered its highest total in 2024, when it hit 287/3 away to Royal Challengers Bengaluru. In IPL 2024, teams breached the 200-run mark 41 times across 74 games.
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Impact Player impacting totals
The much talked about Impact Player rule was introduced by the IPL in 2024 and that has allowed teams to bring on an extra batter during their batting innings, which has allowed teams to put up big totals. Thakur feels this rule, along with flat pitches, adds to the entertainment value but at the expense of bowlers’ performance.
“We have already seen the rule change and the Impact Player rule coming in, so every team is potentially playing an extra batter, especially while chasing or even let’s say you are batting first, then [everyone] is going in with that depth, because they have now an opportunity to change the batter and call a bowler while defending or vice versa,” Thakur said.
“The Impact Player rule is an entertainment factor and games change a lot, but that these 250 scores are being made is not only because of this rule change, but also because of the way the pitches are being made. We are just saying as a bowling unit that give us a fair and square chance where we can get a batsman out.”
LSG hosts Punjab Kings on April 1 with both teams coming into the fixture with a win under their belt.
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