The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the most followed competitions in the world, and with each passing year, the interest around the tournament continues to rise. However, there is one constant issue plaguing the league: the length of the matches. The T20 format was designed to get a game done in three hours, but no IPL game has ever finished within that time frame. Just for reference, the IPL 2026 game between the Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) lasted for four hours and 22 minutes, despite there being no need for a Super Over.
There are slow-over-rate penalties in place, but they have not been able to stop the menace of matches extending to 3 hours and 30 minutes. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has now urged the BCCI to take the matter into its own hands and ensure there is no lackadaisical approach.
The 1983 World Cup-winner also said that there should be strict SOPs for the strategic time out, and that only a limited number of reserve players and support staff should be allowed to enter the playing area.
“Often, one sees the unnecessary sight of reserve players stepping onto the ground to give a bottle of water to the fielder near the boundary. That should not be allowed, as that would mean more than 11 players on the field while the play is on, even though it may be between deliveries. At the strategic time out too, one often sees about half a dozen others on the ground, including the batters who are next into bat. That is taking the liberty too far. Here again, apart from the two reserve players with the drinks and two from the coaching staff, and nobody else should be allowed on the ground,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
“As Richie Benaud said to me at the start of my broadcasting career, the ground is a sacred place and should be entered only by those officiating and those playing. This is the reason if, am not doing any pitch report or a TV show, I hardly step out on the field. Hopefully, the BCCI will also ensure that and all the committee members who have all access accreditation also do not step inside the boundary. Keep the sanctity of the playing area please. The IPL is a fantastic tournament, but a bit of looseness and laxity is coming in which is not cricket and if the ever-alert BCCI can take measures to get it even more crisper and tighter, it will be truly unbeatable and brilliantly spectacular as any event can ever be,” he added.
‘Reduce the wicket timer’
The legendary Indian batter also said that the wicket timer can be reduced from 2 to 1 minute, since all batters sit in the dugout and don’t take long to enter thefield once a wicket falls.
“Today all batters are in the dug-out instead of being in their change room as in the past, so the allowance of two minutes can be brought down to a minute and if the batter is not ready to face the bowler, then after a couple of warnings to the team, the penalty runs should kick in,” wrote Gavaskar.
“Similarly, the first ball after the strategic time-out should be bowled exactly after two minutes and 30 seconds have passed. Here also, the actual time taken at the end of the over, and then the umpire signalling time out, means the break is for almost three minutes. Yes, it’s peak summer, so the players need to cool down and get some refreshing drinks, but this is being exploited, and the time out can stretch unnecessarily. Again, a penalty of runs will make a huge difference,” he added.
Gavaskar wants penalties in place for everyone who fails to get the job done in time, saying the players earn well enough that a financial penalty can be imposed.
“Today, with the amount of money that is on offer, a financial penalty is nothing for the teams who usually take care of the individual player’s financial penalty too. Unless the penalty is such that it can affect the result of the game, it won’t be effective,” wrote Gavaskar.
“See the panic that happens when a team is penalised for not bowling its overs in time and is allowed one player less outside the 30-metre ring for the final over. That’s because it can affect the result of the game. A points or runs penalty will ensure that there is no dawdling between the overs,” he added.