200+ scores are IPL's sugar rush. Great for TRPs, dangerous as a full diet.
BCCI, don't kill the golden goose, cautions Sandeep Goyal.
Say IPL, and the first words that pop up in your mind are enjoyment, excitement, and entertainment. Add excess to that -- especially this year, when fans have been treated to a run-fest, with teams consistently breaching the 200-run mark with ease and aplomb. Time and time again.
Almost all matches have showcased the dominance of batters on flat, willow-friendly pitches.
While this has delighted fans who obviously love the power-hitting, the constant run glut and boundaries galore have raised concerns over the diminishing contest between bat and ball.
In a recent Red Lab survey of 23 large clients that have given the Indian Premier League a miss this year, the feedback headlines were -- 'not cricket any longer', 'the sixes overpower the brand messaging', 'the ads almost look like intrusion in the ongoing sixes orgy'.
But those that have chosen to advertise (Red Lab interviewed 16 such brands), on the IPL broadcast say -- 'much more bang for the buck', 'fans are happy', 'every match is getting better and better' and 'IPL is expensive, but great RoI'.
The 200+ scores are certainly adding charm to the IPL, but also possibly eroding parts of the brand. They are changing what the IPL brand actually means or connotes, or should stand for. Let's examine both perspectives.
Sixes every over. 250 chases in 18 overs. Casual fans seem to love the hard-hitting, the lofted shots, and the chaos.
IPL is selling thousands of tickets and getting millions of eyeballs -- the broadcaster JioStar is said to be pocketing Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) per match.
The 2024-2025 seasons saw 200+ scores become the new normal, and viewership hit all-time highs.
2026 has only gone further. T20 and IPL, some would argue, was built for this -- 'Cricket's Bollywood'.
Flat pitches, a recently introduced impact player rule, small boundaries -- this is the new evolved IPL product.
So, complaining about 200+ in the IPL is like complaining about too many dunks in the NBA (National Basketball Association).
But the IPL is today a football match with almost 40 goals scored between the two sides and a 20-19 end score. Oops, which fan would want that!?
The 200+ games have also minted instant stars. Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Heinrich Klaasen have become household names because they can strike at 200+.
Bowlers who have survived have also become legends. When Jasprit Bumrah defends 20 in the last over, every delivery makes for peak 'cinema', not merely cricket.
A quick look at the numbers: The 2024 IPL season saw 41 scores of 200+. In 2025, that number rose to 52 for the entire season. 2026 is on track to surpass 2025's record easily.
For a better comparison -- during 2018-2022, only 133 scores of 200+ were recorded across five full seasons combined.
Between 2023 and 2026, 163 scores of 200+ have already happened, with 20 or more matches still to go this season.
But howsoever much fun the big hitting may be, when 70 per cent of games feel like batting practice, the 'contest' part of cricket dies.
Fans love sixes, but they respect a 160 versus 155 nail-biter more. If every match is 220 versus 215, it starts feeling like a baseball home run derby.
IPL used to showcase craft: Malinga yorkers, Narine mystery spin, Bhuvi swing. Now it's 'see ball, hit ball'. Bang. Bang. Bang.
Young bowlers will tomorrow either become T20 mercenaries or just quit the game. In the long term, this will certainly thin out India's Test/One Day International bowling pool.
IPL's early brand was more about 'where talent meets opportunity'. The best versus the best. Now it risks becoming 'WWE with bats', with matches beginning to feel like scripted run fests.
The authenticity of Brand IPL as a sporting league is seriously at risk. Entertainment is eclipsing cricket.
Basically, it is a situation that is net positive for IPL but net negative for cricket. IPL's job, one understands, is to be a commercial monster, and 200+ games print money.
Broadcasters, sponsors, Gen-Z viewers are lapping it all up and enjoying the fun in large dollops. Brand value of the IPL has perhaps touched $20 billion to $25 billion. But brand cricket has suffered.
The fix isn't fewer runs -- it's better balance. In 2018, teams averaged 8.42 runs per over during the Power Play. Today it has jumped by 50 to 60 per cent.
Openers' strike rate today invariably exceeds 200 per cent. What is needed?
More 170-par pitches, bigger boundaries at some venues that will give bowlers something to fight.
A 200 chase after a team fought to 185 is better charm than 260 vs 250 every night.
200+ scores are IPL's sugar rush. Great for TRPs, dangerous as a full diet. The Board of Control for Cricket in India -- don't kill the golden goose.
Sandeep Goyal is chairman, Rediffusion.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff