THE amount of runs and the pace of scoring have already ensured that this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to become the most explosive tournament. Steep targets are being demolished with total ease as batters have set the trend of making an opening statement to subdue the defending side. Trends are also being set by the established players who have matched the newcomers equally in showing their class. It has been a speciality of the IPL where the young and experience form a potent force to dish out superb cricketing experience for millions of fans. While the likes of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma and Priyansh Arya are coming out all guns blazing at the top, seasoned pros Virat Kohli, K L Rahul and Sanju Samson are also holding their fort with a mix of aggression and smartness. The front-loading of big hitters has signaled a change in approach of teams as they are stratetgising use of their best talent upfront instead of saving their batting resources for later.

 

The approach has resulted in stiff totals getting deconstructed quite easily with the help of blazing starts, especially in the powerplay. Even otherwise, the Twenty20 format is heavily loaded in favour of batsmen. But this time, there is a strong insistence by teams to use explosive hitters as the first line of attack instead of utilising their firepower in the second half till death overs. It has paid rich dividends for teams like Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Other teams are also using similar strategies with mixed success. With a lot of cricket left to be played in the next month or so, there is a strong possibility of all-out attack becoming the thumb-rule for teams. Apart from the changed approach, another striking highlight of this year’s IPL is the emergence of uncapped players as gamechangers.

 

At this point, young pacers plying their trade for age-group or State teams are dominating bowling charts with their pace and accuracy. Though the punishing format of T20 cricket has not spared them, young bowlers like Prince Yadav, Vidarbha’s Praful Hinge, Sakib Hussain, Ashwani Kumar and Rasikh Salam have taken four-wicket hauls to prove their potential. The uncapped Indian pacers are dominating the bowling scene as captains have used their unknown quantity as surprise weapons with great success. That there is more dependence of pace bowlers this edition can be gauged from the less use of spinners by teams.

 

The Impact Player rule has been the biggest factor in this change as it has allowed team managements to use specialised bowler against a batsman at any point in the game. Captains have mostly gone for fast bowlers as Impact Players with good success rate. However, there is a flip side to the use of more pacers by teams in this edition. It has resulted in more game time as fast bowlers take more time to complete their overs that spinners do. Though there is monetary fine for time breach for captains, it is hardly been seen as a deterrent. Longer hours of matches should be an area of concern for the IPL Governing Council.