Sunrisers Hyderabad spin-bowling coach Muthiah Muralidaran has said that bowlers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) have no choice but to accept that they are going to get hit, pointing to the commercial demands of the format as the reason the balance between bat and ball is unlikely to change anytime soon.
Muralidaran spoke after Sunrisers chased down 244 against Mumbai Indians with seven balls to spare, on a day when SRH’s 23-year-old uncapped batter Salil Arora hit a no-look six off Jasprit Bumrah.
“Even a good bowler goes for a six, even Bumrah goes for one or two balls,” Muralidaran said at the post-match press conference. “But nowadays, it’s about ‘how am I going to hit a six’, that’s their approach. Confidence levels have gone up because people have shown this is the way to play the modern game and youngsters are following that.”
He pointed to how dramatically the game had shifted since his playing days. “When we used to play, about 40 to 50 runs was a good score with one wicket lost in six overs, now the average is 70 to 80.”
Muralidaran was blunt about what that means for bowlers. “For bowlers, there is not much to say; they have to practise a lot and be as accurate as possible. On your day, you might do well, even if you do well sometimes you are on the receiving end because of the wicket and the conditions.”
Asked how he or Shane Warne would have fared on today’s pitches, he was candid. “We would have turned the ball, but we would have not made a big dent. Nowadays, 50 runs is a great deal for a spinner, 40 runs means you’ve bowled well. The game has changed, we can’t compare eras.”
He also raised concerns about how spin bowling is being developed at the grassroots level. “Spinners only try to bowl quicker, and not try to spin the ball. Because they are not getting that ability from a younger age, you can’t come to Under-19s and try to spin the ball because their muscle memory is already there. When you are at the age of 10, 11, 12, try to spin. If you spin, their eyes also open and they say ‘oh it’s spinning, so I’m missing it.'”
On whether the IPL could restore the balance between bat and ball, Muralidaran was realistic.
“I don’t think pushing the boundary ropes, when the ball is flying over the ropes everywhere, will change things. If we give fair wickets, the spectators will say it’s become boring because the T20 followers want entertainment, so they want to see the fours and sixes.”
He pointed directly to the money at stake. “It is a big business at the moment, sponsors and everything, so you will lose the sponsors and interest of the people if you change it.”
Muralidaran did say bowlers would eventually find ways to adapt, but expected batters to respond in kind.
“Over a period, bowlers will try to adapt, it will take some time. Sunrisers started this and now everyone is adapting, so now the bowlers will go back from this tournament and figure out how we can contain. They will come up with something, and the batsmen will find something else, this is the way the modern cricketers are going,” he said.
