Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has called upon the International Cricket Council (ICC) for an ‘urgent’ reassessment of certain cricketing rules. With no reverse swing as such in the modern-era, boundary dimensions, bouncer restrictions among many other factors, the ODI format has been ruled by batsmen in the last few years.
Gautam Gambhir Urges ICC To Look Into The 2 New Balls, Circle Rules, And Bouncers Restrictions
Gambhir suggested that, if not acted upon soon, the field and bouncer restrictions, coupled with the allocation of 2 new balls in ODI cricket, can reduce bowlers to ‘programmed bowling machines’. Gautam Gambhir’s tweeted after a high-scoring second ODI between India and England where England managed to score 335 runs inside just 44 overs.
Gambhir Tweeted “The rules of the game seem so lopsided in favour of batsmen that bowlers seem redundant, ‘also rans’. @ICC urgently needs to relook at the circle rule, two new balls, and bouncer restrictions. Otherwise, bowlers will be reduced to programmed bowling machines @bcci”.
The ‘circle rule’ pointed out by Gautam Gambhir is most likely a reference to the laws governing field restrictions in the powerplay overs which are favourable to batsmen.
a) Powerplay 1 – no more than two 2 fieldsmen permitted outside the field restrictions area or the 30-yard circle. In an innings of 50 overs, these include the first 10 overs.
b) Powerplay 2 – no more than four 4 fieldsmen permitted outside the circle. In an innings of 50 overs, this applies for overs 11 to 40.
c) Powerplay 3 – no more than five 5 fieldsmen permitted outside the circle. This applies to the last ten overs of a 50-over inning.
Former Indian cricketer and 2007 and 2011 World Cup winner, Gautam Gambhir took to his Twitter handle and urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a reassessment of three rules of ODI cricket.
Gambhir next talked of the ‘two new balls’ law and at last, he called for a relook at bouncer restrictions, the ICC has set the maximum limit of bouncers to two per over in ODI cricket. This rule has also been criticized by many experts. ODI matches over the past few years have produced run fests, leaving bowlers with very little to desire.
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