The Indian Premier League has us all hooked once again, as the auction for the upcoming season will be held on Tuesday. Franchises will look to bolster their teams with some pivotal purchases and also add more depth to certain departments.
It is also reported that IPL 2024 will allow bowlers to perform two overs at a time. The new rule is implemented to make competition equal between both racket and ball. It was also tried out during the 2023-24 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Jaydev Unadkat, a veteran IPL player, praised the change and played for Saurashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, he said: “I feel that having two bouncers is very beneficial, and I feel it is one of those things that gives a bowler an extra advantage over the batsmen.”
“Because, for example, if you bowl a slower bouncer… the batsman in the previous case is sure that there is no bouncer coming. In this case, even if you bowl a slower bouncer in the first half of the over, you can still use another one.” [in the over]. Someone who is weak against guards will have to be better at it and then it will give the player an extra weapon in their armory. “So, I feel like it’s a very small change that has a big impact, and as a player, I feel it’s very important to have that rule.”
The Indian pacer also feels that fast bowlers have more options in the death overs, with the new rule. “Also in the event of death, you have another option. So, it became more Yorkie-oriented [bowling] In death for fast bowlers. It cannot be a yorker, slower and bouncer ball because there are two bouncers. “Even if you don’t bowl the second bouncer, the batsman still has that expectation that the bowler might bowl the second bouncer,” he added.