Dravid, who led India to its second T20 World Cup victory in the Caribbean in 2024, is impressed by how young talents like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre, Priyansh Arya, and the world’s top-ranked T20 batter Abhishek Sharma have completely revolutionized the strategy during the Powerplay overs.
“In a way, observing the batting quality that has emerged over the past few years, I believe bowlers in this format will gradually need to catch up,” Dravid shared with PTI in an exclusive interview from Dublin, where he was announced as the owner of the Dublin franchise in the European T20 Premier League (ETPL).
The former India captain and a highly regarded coach praised the way batters now aim for boundaries in areas of the field that once appeared unreachable.
“I think the skill of batting, particularly the ability to hit sixes and target various parts of the ground, has certainly made tremendous strides.
“Bowlers must continue honing their skills and evolving. I’m confident that some will still manage to stand out and make their mark,” Dravid noted, who has coached IPL teams like Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals.
However, he candidly acknowledged that modern batters have adapted to T20 dynamics more effectively than bowlers, though he believes change is on the horizon.
“When considering balance, it seems many more batsmen can meet the demands of today’s T20 game compared to some bowlers at this moment. This could shift in the next few years,” he added.
In contrast, the situation in Test cricket presents a different outlook where bowlers have frequently dominated by generating result-oriented games.
“If you examine today’s Test cricket, nearly every Test match concludes with a result. Therefore, bowlers seem to exert considerable influence in some of the Tests we are observing.
“You know, two-day and three-day matches. Bowlers have indeed begun to dominate in Test cricket.
“It will be intriguing to see if bowlers can regain some ground in T20s over the coming years,” Dravid remarked.
But can bowlers regain control if the pitches remain as flat as they have recently? Dravid acknowledged that bowlers may require some assistance.
“They might benefit from a bit of support, perhaps through creating more challenging wickets that provide bowlers with opportunities—whether it’s turning tracks or pitches that offer more pace and bounce.
“I don’t think we can expand the boundary sizes, and there’s already limited room to do so,” Dravid commented.
When asked if allowing two bouncers per over might be a reasonable solution, Dravid preferred not to delve into specifics.
“I think anything that could offer bowlers a bit more opportunity is worth considering. Yet, I still believe that in the next couple of years, we may witness bowlers starting to reclaim some swing.
“There’s always a balance; sometimes the bat dominates, as we see now in white-ball cricket, and perhaps in red-ball cricket, the bowl is regaining some control.” However, Dravid also emphasized that he doesn’t want the game to lean too far in favor of either batters or bowlers.
“At some point, we need to ensure that the balance doesn’t tilt too far to either side, whether it’s toward the batsmen or the bowlers,” he stated.
