Kagiso Rabada: ‘You might as well call our sport Batting and not Cricket, if there isn’t a balance between bat and ball’

[Tillu]

There has been a lot of chatter around the first 300 total being achieved in this year’s IPL, and most of it is due to the way Sunrisers Hyderabad have been going about their business. On Sunday, in their first match of the season, SRH appeared to have it within their sights, needing 44 runs off the last 2 overs – a very doable scenario with Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan in the middle. The batting approach from Pat Cummins’ side in the last two years of IPL has been so explosive that when SRH finished on 286/6 – their & IPL’s 2nd highest total – it felt a few short. So what do the bowlers think of such scenarios?

South African speedster Kagiso Rabada, who has joined Gujarat Titans ahead of IPL 2025, spoke to The Indian Express about the importance of maintaining a balance between bat and ball. Excerpts from the interview:

What’s your view on the chatter around the 300-milestone possibly being achieved in this IPL?

The game has to progress somehow, but I don’t think it can just get too flat, like every single game. It would take the fun out of it. You know, then you might as well call our sport Batting, and not Cricket. I have no issues with a few records being broken, that’s fine. High-scoring games are good, but so are low-scoring games. But you can’t have it tilting either side too dramatically, there needs to be a balance that is maintained between bat and ball.

 

Indianexpress

[tapandrun]

Only thing that can help the bowlers is proper big size boundaries 75m, rest is rubbish. They 1st went after bat size that batters are using bigger bats that helps hitting.

Batters are getting stronger and more risk taking and which is paying for them. They train fr it and now is not that a high level of risk.

 

What can bowlers do, not much really, they can add white-ball skills which are good for 1-2 seasons, mystery spins help but batters are getting better at that too.

 

300 in t20s has been breached, so it can be done which team which match its just to be seen. Recent CT (odi) saw so many 300+ total and a 350+ total was chased down against a proper test bowling line-up. Game is moving faster, batters are getting stronger and adding new shots, what are bowlers trying to do is there a set of bowler who are thinking if they can go 150+ kmph can that help ??

 

What can really help bowlers in t20s, think its just the boundary sizes but still 200+ totals will be common now on. 

There are 3 viable options :: Bigger boundaries, green tops, turners. else reduce pp to 4 over or give fieding side 2 overs of defensive play where captain can chose 2 overs where they can have 7 fielders out side inner circle 

Edited March 24, 2025 by tapandrun

[Tillu]

22 minutes ago, tapandrun said:

Only thing that can help the bowlers is proper big size boundaries 75m, rest is rubbish. They 1st went after bat size that batters are using bigger bats that helps hitting.

Batters are getting stinger and more risk taking and which is playing for them. They train fr it and now is not that a high level of risk.

 

What can bowlers do, not much really, they can add white-ball skills which are good for 1-2 seasons, mystery spins help but batters are getting batter at that too.

 

300 in t20s has been breached, so it can be done which team which match its just to be seen. Recent CT (odi) saw so many 300+ total and a 350+ total was chased down against a proper test bowling line-up. Game is moving faster, batters are getting stronger and adding new shots, what are bowlers trying to do is there a set a bowler who are thinking if they can go 150+ kmph can that help ??

 

What can really help bowlers in t20s, think its just the boundary sizes but still 200+ totals will be common now on. 

There are 3 viable options :: Bigger boundaries, green tops, turners. else reduce pp to 4 over or give fieding side 2 overs of defensive play where captain cab chose 2 overs where they can have 7 fielders out side inner circle 

 

Yeah bat sizes are getting bigger and stronger while the boundary sizes are getting smaller. Casual fans may like it but serious fans will slowly lose interest in limited overs cricket.

[tapandrun]

12 minutes ago, Tillu said:

 

Yeah bat sizes are getting bigger and stronger while the boundary sizes are getting smaller. Casual fans may like it but serious fans will slowly lose interest in limited overs cricket.

bat size really does not matter that much a 50 mm edge bat can ping same as 36-40 mm bat,  its boundary sizes, icc need to formalize the boundary sizes.

[Suhaan]

They should one thing,while a batsman can use the space of his batting crease,bowlers too should be allowed to bowl atleast 3 bouncers and bowl from a yard out of the both bowling boxes

[Ultimate_Game]

Looks like Rabada is getting his excuses in. But it would help if we have min boundary size of 70m. Don't want to see 55-60m sixes.

[cowboysfan]

1 hour ago, Suhaan said:

They should one thing,while a batsman can use the space of his batting crease,bowlers too should be allowed to bowl atleast 3 bouncers and bowl from a yard out of the both bowling boxes

bouncers wont help in tiny grounds in India,more often than not they clear the boundary even with a slightest touch behind the keeper.the main problem for me is BCCI is not letting teams prepare the wickets like they want to,if RCB had its way they they prepare a hard wicket with some grass on it.

[rollingstoned]

14 minutes ago, cowboysfan said:

bouncers wont help in tiny grounds in India,more often than not they clear the boundary even with a slightest touch behind the keeper.the main problem for me is BCCI is not letting teams prepare the wickets like they want to,if RCB had its way they they prepare a hard wicket with some grass on it.

Who told you BCCI does not allow franchises to prepare pitches the way they want to?

[cowboysfan]

4 hours ago, rollingstoned said:

Who told you BCCI does not allow franchises to prepare pitches the way they want to?

i dont think franchises are allowed to tinker with the pitches and produce anything but placid wickets,no way is RCB suffering from 17 years of terrible home advantage when they can prepare a green tracks and use their seamers to good advantage.

[cowboysfan]

another thing they can do is completely take out power play from T20s,there is no need of powerplays when the boundaries are so short and teams are scoring 100 runs in PPs.

[rkt.india]

7 hours ago, tapandrun said:

bat size really does not matter that much a 50 mm edge bat can ping same as 36-40 mm bat,  its boundary sizes, icc need to formalize the boundary sizes.

Bhai, you can't increase ground size. Chinnaswamy was same size in the 90s too when 200-250 were good scores in ODIs.  Give credit to batsmen who have evolved

[tapandrun]

1 hour ago, rkt.india said:

Bhai, you can't increase ground size. Chinnaswamy was same size in the 90s too when 200-250 were good scores in ODIs.  Give credit to batsmen who have evolved

All ready mentioned this in the 1st post on this thread batter are getting stronger and are taking more risks, they do train and now those risk factor has dropped down by a large margin now.

There nothing much can be done by bowlers.

 

The only solutions if alter the pitches, provide extra fielders outside inner circle or increase boundary sizes, decrease pp

Edited March 24, 2025 by tapandrun

[AuxiliA]

Rabada has a valid point. The best cricket happens when the par scores are 150-180 in T20 and 250-280 in ODIs. 

 

Even low scoring games, where each ball becomes an event, are way more exciting than high scoring games where bowlers are just cannon fodder. 

 

 

[vvvslaxman]

Limited over cricket was always played on flat tracks even in the 90s, 2000s. But attitude was not the same back then. When Jayasuriya butchered bowlers nobody blamed pitches. Because he was the only one who was doing it. THen Sehwag joined. Gilchrist joined.  Still one or two players showed intent. Nowadays each team has 5 or 6 Jayasuriyas. Call it a natural evolution of the game. Even now there are people who is not capable of batting like this. Babar Azam, Rizwan are some of the examples. Rahane has been playing cricket for more than a decade. Why is he suddenly playing aggressively something he could not do for 10 seasons? It is the change of attitude and approach. 

[putrevus]

He is absolutely right. You need to provide some help to bowlers.

 

250 plus runfests are so boring. 

[Lord]

52 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said:

Limited over cricket was always played on flat tracks even in the 90s, 2000s. But attitude was not the same back then. When Jayasuriya butchered bowlers nobody blamed pitches. Because he was the only one who was doing it. THen Sehwag joined. Gilchrist joined.  Still one or two players showed intent. Nowadays each team has 5 or 6 Jayasuriyas. Call it a natural evolution of the game. Even now there are people who is not capable of batting like this. Babar Azam, Rizwan are some of the examples. Rahane has been playing cricket for more than a decade. Why is he suddenly playing aggressively something he could not do for 10 seasons? It is the change of attitude and approach. 

 

Back then new ball used to move around and there was reverse in the end due to old ball. Far tougher than today

[Laaloo]

No need for extra stuff. Just remove the nonsense stuff that has gotten added in the last 13 years.

 

First start off with the asinine 2 new balls in ODI.  Back then from 30th over it was very difficult to score runs as the ball is old and would not come on to the bat. Nowadays every tom dick and Harry is averaging 50+.

 

 

For T20s not sure you can do much. Probably remove the power play?

[R!TTER]

8 hours ago, rkt.india said:

Chinnaswamy was same size in the 90s too when 200-250 were good scores in ODIs.  Give credit to batsmen who have evolved

The boundaries used to be further back, they're way too much in now!

[vvvslaxman]

4 hours ago, Lord said:

 

Back then new ball used to move around and there was reverse in the end due to old ball. Far tougher than today

 

In T20 they still use just one ball. So obviously due to short nature of the format you are going to harder. Even in the 80s teams went harder when the game was shortened in nature. 

 

Here is an example. Match reduced to 15 overs. England made 121 in 15 overs. India ended up with 114

 

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/england-tour-of-india-1984-85-61797/india-vs-england-5th-odi-64253/full-scorecard

 

Here is another match. Match was reduced to 45 overs. WI made 333 in 45 overs

 

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/west-indies-tour-of-india-1983-84-61939/india-vs-west-indies-4th-odi-64220/full-scorecard

 

 

 

 

[tapandrun]

back then there were 2 balls used as well, from over 30-35 there was a ball change, not formally a written rule but batter would ask that the ball is not visible.

kookaburra does not swing that much because it machine made, v.high quality. no irregularity in the shapes. previously balls were irregularly shaped they were not consistent, quality can not be compared to todays' balls.

Even the white kookaburra pings better of the bat compared to red and pink.

white >red> pink

 

there were less cameras, teams would use the art of maintaining so that it reverses, ground in sc were not that green with high quality grass.

 

its the same kind of narrative that they pushed in 2018 about the bats, six hitting never stopped after the size regulation. all the ppl knew it, its not the bat size.

not every1 was using big bats back then too.  

 

if anything can help it would br boundary size make it 70m mandatory 

 

Edited March 24, 2025 by tapandrun