Three rule changes that can make T20s more interesting 

While it is a well-known fact that T20 is all about fours and sixes, one must not forget that cricket is and always will be a contest between bat and the ball. The recent trend in T20s around the world has seen scores in excess of 200 becoming the norm, which means that the contest is more between the batsmen of the two teams.

Here are the three rule changes that could make the shortest format more interesting and more importantly keep the bowlers in the game as well.

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#1 Reduce the number of wickets

Although the number of overs that a bowler can bowl gets reduced in T20s, the batting team still retains all the 10 wickets. This means that every batting unit can go bonkers from the word-go because losing a few wickets upfront might not have much of an impact as they have 10 wickets in hand.

Cameos from a couple of batsmen in the top-7 will ensure that the eventual total is a huge one. Invariably, most teams have a good batting unit, who pile on the agony upon the bowlers. The 22 yards that is being used for these T20s makes it even more difficult for bowlers to genuinely bowl good deliveries to dismiss international batsmen.

The number of wickets for a T20 can be reduced to 5 or 6 as against the 10 in a 50 over contest or a Test match. This will ensure that the batting side will be a little more cautious and not just go hammer and tongs without worrying about their wickets. This will be similar to the “super over”, where the batting teams have only a couple of wickets available in an over to score the runs.

#2 Get rid of the power-play overs

The power-play overs in ODIs make more sense as it is a longer format and also gives options to the batsmen to attack in different phases of the game. In T20s, when there are only 2 fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle for the first 6 overs, the situation is loaded heavily in favour of the batsmen. With short boundaries, lightning quick outfields and absolute flat tracks, it is almost impossible for a bowler to keep the batsmen quiet.

The power-play overs could be taken off and the fielding captains must have the luxury of keeping as many as 5 fielders outside the 30-yard circle throughout the innings, which is the case after the sixth over at present. With so many inventive shots being played these days, this could be another challenge for the muscular batsmen.

#3 Increase the quota of overs to be bowled by the bowlers

With a restriction of only 4 overs per bowler in T20s, most batsmen play out the leading bowlers and go after the less fancied ones. On most occasions, the bowling side's captain feel the pinch when the fifth bowler is brought on, who is usually a part-time option. If one of the four leading bowlers have had a bad night (which is very much a possibility) then it becomes a nightmare for the captain to look out for bowling options.

There could be a change in this law to increase the bowler's quota to 5 overs for any two bowlers, which means that the fifth bowler might have to bowl only 2 overs. This move could once again provide more challenges to the batsmen because they would have to go hard against good bowlers and that provides for an exciting viewing.