Changes needed in official IPL fantasy league scoring rules

It is that time of the year when the T20 carnival IPL runs wild on almost every Indian cricket fan. Many watch the IPL on their television sets, while some watch it live at the stadium. With almost every individual being an expert, we all come up with different strategies and expert remarks. How would it be if we all can have our very own cricket team and experience what it feels like to be the owner of an IPL franchise?

The IPL fantasy league provides all of us with one such opportunity. Offering exciting rewards, the league is already a big hit. The rules are equally exciting as the rewards and make for one hell of a competition. However, there are certain aspects of the game left untouched by the rules, which could add that extra bit of spice and element of surprise that the T20 format brings with it. I suggest some rule changes that could work in making the contest more exciting, keeping it fair at the same time.

Rules as of now in the official IPL fantasy league (Image credits: Iplt20.com)

Let us first have a look at the current scoring rules.

Here are some changes that I suggest:

BATTING POINTS

Impact score: Doubling the score for sixes after every 5th six, i.e., 2 points for sixes 1-5; 4 points for sixes 6-10; 8 points for sixes 11-15 and so on.

T20 is a game of big hitting, but you don’t see a batsman hitting a dozen maximums very often. This requires a special effort and should be appreciated with increased number of points.

Milestone bonus: Increasing the bonus by 5 for every subsequent 25-run milestone, i.e., 10 points for 25 runs; 15 points for 50 runs; 20 points for 75 runs and so on.

The fact that the statistics of a batsman show the number of 30s and not the number of 50s and 100s is enough to spell that 50s and 100s are not easy to get in this format and should be rewarded with extra number of points.

In support for the changes suggested above, I will take the example of just one innings; one special innings, I must add.

IPL 2013, Match 31: RCB vs PWI

Chris Gayle: 175* (66): 13 fours and 17 sixes.

This was one hell of an innings that broke more records than the IQ of many politicians of this nation.

Points for this innings with the current set of scoring rules: 175 + (2*17) + (10*7) + (175-66) = 388

Points for this innings with the suggested changes: 175 + (2*5 + 4*5 + 8*5 + 2*16) + (10+15+20+25+30+35+40) + (175-66) = 561

There is a difference of 173 points between the two, and I think it is only reasonable to appreciate the special effort.

BOWLING POINTS

Impact score: Extra points for wicket maiden over: 30 for wicket maiden; 40 for double wicket maiden and so on.

Maiden overs are rare in T20s, but wicket-maiden overs are even rarer and should be rewarded with extra points.

Milestone bonus: Increasing points for every subsequent wicket: 10 for 2nd wicket; 15 for 3rd and so on.

We hardly see any 5 wicket-hauls in T20s. With just 4 overs per bowler, taking more than 2 wickets is a very good performance and deserves some extra points.

Hat-trick bonus: 50 points for a hat-trick

6 seasons into the IPL, we have witnessed just 11 hat-tricks with 3 of them by Amit Mishra. A hat-trick is a rare feat and should be rewarded.

No ball penalty: -3 points for every no ball.

No ball is a crime in T20s, specially the front foot no ball that grants the batsman a free hit of the next ball. I will not bring wide balls in this frame and only penalize the bowler for no balls (front foot, back foot and above waist height)

FIELDING POINTS

Direct Hit: Increasing the points from 15 to 20.

With the current set of rules, a wicket-keeper earns 15 points for a stumping, while for a run-out every player involved earns 10 points. In this context, the points for a direct hit are not appropriate. A direct hit should at least be rewarded with 20 points, which will be equal to the combined points when two players in your fantasy team are involved in a run out.

ALL ROUND PERFORMANCE POINTS

All round impact: 30 points for 50 or more runs along with 2 or more wickets.

An all-round performance with the bat and ball should be appreciated by an additional bonus.

POWER BONUS

Power Player of the Match: If your Power Player of the day happens to be the Player-of-the-Match, then all of his points will be tripled instead of being doubled, which is the case now.

I think these rule changes will affect the outcome of the various modes of the league in a good way and make it all the more exciting.