Worst ever IPL?

May.31 (Mirror Sports) - Since its introduction in 2008, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has gone on to be the biggest franchise-based cricket competition in the world.

It has produced some sensational cricket over the years and provided so many opportunities to young cricketers to make their mark. With its immense popularity, one understands the organisers are keen to make commercial gains, which, however, should not affect what happens on the pitch.

Over the last few years, the IPL has changed so much in a way that favours the batting. It has clearly been designed for batsmen to dominate and score over 200 runs and then to see it gets chased down. With the introduction of an impact sub, the teams have an extra batter, which gives permission for the top order to have a blast and take more chances than they would in an international game.

The openers are the biggest benefactors of this rule, and unsurprisingly, in the last edition of the IPL, nine out of the top 10 run scorers are openers. This has made cricket an unfair game.

The bowlers have almost no chance with the sort of pitches they have to bowl on and obviously the change of rules. IPL is organised under the guidance of BCCI; it’s played in India, and the majority of the players who take part in it are Indians, but another reality is it’s the most watched global cricketing event after the World Cup.

Therefore, it’s a bit concerning that this circus of high-scoring games would eventually see real cricket fans moving away from it for good; just like the famous video game Cricket 2007 - one always grows out of it. A number of former cricketers have already made their opinions crystal clear on how the game has lost its balance.

Among them was former Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar has recommended three potential changes to the IPL.

His first suggestion is removing the Impact Player rule, arguing that it effectively allows teams to add an extra batter, making life even harder for bowlers, and then he has recommended splitting the Powerplay, with the first four overs remaining mandatory and the final two Powerplay overs available for the fielding captain to use at any stage of the innings.

Tendulkar’s third suggestion is allowing one bowler to bowl five overs instead of the current four-over limit, giving teams greater opportunity to use their best bowler against top batters.

Tendulkar is seen in India as a cricketing god; when he talks, usually the authorities listen, but it would be interesting to see if they’d make any changes to balance the game out next year.