The recent Duleep Trophy and Irani Cup, showcasing the cream of India’s first-class cricket, witnessed a concerning trend – slow over-rates. While the quality of cricket remained high, the leisurely pace at which matches unfolded cast a shadow over the spectacle. Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane, a veteran of 87 Test matches, has called for a drastic measure to address this issue – imposing run penalties.
Rahane’s plea comes after a particularly sluggish Irani Cup final, where the slow over-rates significantly affected the game’s flow. The last day saw a mere 38 overs bowled in 240 minutes, with both teams resorting to time-wasting tactics to secure a draw. The heat was cited as a contributing factor, but Rahane believes that the lack of consequences for slow over-rates is the real culprit.
“I feel because there are no penalties for the overs short… if they start penalising the team by number of runs for every over that the fielding team is short by, for instance 12 runs for one over, 24 for two and so on and it should be added after every day’s player,” Rahane suggested.
Currently, the only sanctions for slow over-rates are monetary penalties, ranging from 10% to 100% of the match fee for the captain and team. However, Rahane believes that these financial penalties are not a strong enough deterrent. He argues that run penalties would force teams to prioritize maintaining a healthy over-rate, ensuring a more dynamic and exciting contest for the spectators.
“I always believe that players should maintain that discipline. They should play within the rules. But at the moment there are no penalties, so I cannot comment too much about the rules. Whoever is managing domestic cricket, I feel if they can add these strict run penalties, it will be a huge thing.”
Rahane’s call for stricter penalties raises an important question – will the authorities heed his advice and implement run penalties to curb the slow over-rate menace in domestic cricket before it spills over into the Ranji Trophy and other major tournaments? Only time will tell if the cricketing authorities take decisive action to address this growing concern.
