IPL 2026: ‘Fifth over for a bowler if...'- Sunil Gavaskar proposes drastic T20 rule change

Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has proposed a major tweak to IPL playing conditions, suggesting that bowlers who take a certain number of wickets in their spell should be rewarded with an additional over.

Writing in his column for Mid Day, Gavaskar argued that modern T20 cricket, especially the IPL, has increasingly tilted in favour of batters due to flat pitches, shorter boundaries and regulations that leave bowlers with very little margin for error. According to him, allowing wicket-taking bowlers an extra over could restore some balance between bat and ball.

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“This is where one feels that the restriction of only four overs to a bowler could be looked at again," Gavaskar wrote. “If a batter can bat the entire 20 overs, why can’t a bowler who gets, say, three wickets in his four overs be allowed to bowl another over as a reward for getting those wickets?”

Gavaskar believes such a rule would encourage attacking cricket from bowling sides rather than defensive strategies aimed solely at restricting runs. He added, “This way teams will also try getting wickets instead of trying only to save runs being scored. After all, the best dot ball is the wicket-taking dot ball, isn’t it?”

The former India captain pointed to the growing number of centuries and massive totals in IPL 2026 as evidence that conditions are heavily favouring batters. While praising entertaining contests, he said tighter games on more challenging surfaces are far more exciting than one-sided run-fests. He specifically highlighted how batters have struggled on livelier pitches against genuine pace bowlers such as Jofra Archer and Kagiso Rabada.

To explain how the proposed rule might work, Gavaskar referred to Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s recent spell against Mumbai Indians, where the veteran pacer took four wickets. Under the suggested rule, a bowler producing such a performance could potentially bowl an extra over at the death, rewarding the fielding side for attacking bowling.

“Yes, you could conceivably have three bowlers getting three wickets and an extra over each. That would even up the playing field a fair bit in a format where just about everything is stacked against the bowlers,” Gavaskar added.

He also criticised certain batting-friendly conditions in the modern game, including small boundaries and strict wide-ball interpretations for short-pitched deliveries above shoulder height.

Rather than introducing the rule directly into the IPL, Gavaskar suggested that the concept should first be tested in domestic competitions such as city leagues and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy before any wider implementation is considered.