Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to reconsider the current wide bouncer rule in limited overs cricket. Gavaskar believes modern T20 cricket has become too easy for batters, with teams regularly chasing scores of 200 to 250 runs. He feels bowlers need more support to restore balance to the game.
Gavaskar requested Sourav Ganguly, who is currently the chairman of the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee, to raise the issue at the committee’s next meeting.
Gavaskar feels the current rule regarding wide bouncers is making life even more difficult for fast bowlers.
“There’s the ‘wide ball’ call for a bouncer going barely over the batter’s head,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar. “This is like asking a fast bowler to bowl with one hand tied behind his back. C’mon, give him some leeway. After all, with boundary lengths being shortened even though there’s enough space to push them back, the bowlers are being short changed. Now, with this interpretation where the ball is called a wide if it goes above the batter’s head in his normal stance, the quicks are being handicapped even more.”
The former India captain suggested that bowlers should be allowed a little extra height before a delivery is called wide.
“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,” Gavaskar suggested.
Gavaskar also recalled his time as chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee, when bouncers were reintroduced into limited overs cricket in an effort to maintain the balance between bat and ball.
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