Mumbai: Rajasthan Royals mentor Rahul Dravid on Thursday said having two bouncers in an over in Twenty20 cricket and making bowler-friendly wickets will bring balance to the contest between bat and ball in the shortest format of the game.
“Boundaries in a few stadiums could be bigger, making a few bowler-friendly wickets from which bowlers can benefit, with pace, bounce and spin. Like in the World Cup we have seen two bouncers being used in one over, likewise in T20s also two bouncers should be allowed,” Dravid said at an event here.
“I think the balance between bat and ball needs to be addressed. Scores around 160-170 make an exciting game in Twenty20. Some rules can surely be changed in this format,” the former Indian captain said.
Speaking on AB de Villiers’ style of playing and the way the South African approaches the game, Dravid said: “I think I have never ever dreamt of playing the shots that AB and Brendon McCullum play.
“I would say if any youngster has the ability and the potential to play like the way they play, one should go about playing in that manner. These top players have shown the way to the youngsters and surely, as the game goes ahead and progresses, the young can try those.
“Even the great Viv Richards has shown how to play positive attacking cricket. Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana has showed how to play attacking cricket in the first 15 overs. The game changes and players also change,” he said.
With the business end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) approaching, his team the Rajasthan Royals are on the fringes of the play-offs and face the Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday in a must-win game.
“We had a good start to the tournament, winning five back-to-back matches. Two matches were washed out due to rain and then we lost a couple. Now we are in a stage where we can’t lose from here on, it’s important we win all. I don’t think Royals have performed badly this season,” the 42-year-old batting legend said.
“One game against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Ahmedabad where we were all out for 130 we didn’t perform well, but other than that we lost a few by small margins. We haven’t won crucial matches in the season that we should have won.”
