‘Bowling friendly wickets would be boring’:Muttiah Muralitharan says ‘people want to see fours and sixes’

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s chief coach Muttiah Muralitharan said that bowlers should accept that they will be hit. According to him, the game has tilted in favour of batsmen, so bowlers will have to adapt themselves to this situation. He said in a press conference after the match played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians in Mumbai on Wednesday, when asked about the balance between bat and ball in the IPL, that this tournament relies on audience entertainment and the sponsorship business. He said, “If we provide bowling-friendly wickets, the audience will call it boring. People want to see fours and sixes, which is why rules like ‘Impact Player’ have been introduced. If entertainment is lost from the game, sponsors and people’s interest will decrease. Currently, batsmen will have the upper hand; bowlers will take time to update themselves.” Hyderabad achieved the target of 244 runs Hyderabad easily achieved the target of 244 runs in the match played against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium. In this season, such big run chases have happened before. Punjab Kings achieved a target of 265 runs against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Hyderabad successfully chased a target of 229 runs in Jaipur. Powerplay’s math changed: Earlier 50 runs were scored, now 80 are being scored In the press conference, Muralitharan talked about the changing nature of the game. He said, “Nowadays, it is very difficult for a bowler to perform. When we used to play, 40 to 50 runs in the 6 overs of powerplay was considered a good score, but now this average has reached 70 to 80 runs. Now every team has openers who only know how to attack. They don’t care whether the ball is coming in or going out.” 23-year-old Salil hit a ‘no-look six’ off Bumrah Citing the fearless attitude of young batsmen, Muralitharan mentioned uncapped player Salil Arora. He said, “Even a legendary bowler like Jasprit Bumrah is now getting hit for sixes. When a new 23-year-old boy, Salil, hits a ‘no-look six’ off Bumrah, it’s incredible.” “Earlier, youngsters used to think about how to survive against Bumrah; now they think about how to hit him for a six. The confidence level has increased a lot with the modern game,” he added. Concern for spinners: Emphasis on bowling fast instead of getting turn Muralitharan questioned the method of teaching spin bowling at the grassroots level. He said, “Nowadays, spinners try to bowl fast instead of turning the ball. Children should be taught to spin the ball from the age of 10-12. If you don’t spin, you won’t be able to deceive the batsman. The situation now is that in net practice, even spinners look like throw-down bowlers, against whom batters easily hit long shots.” ‘Even Shane Warne and I would have been thrashed in today’s era’ When Muralitharan was asked if he and Shane Warne would have been successful on today’s pitches, he said, “We would have turned the ball, but perhaps wouldn’t have made a big difference. The wickets are so good that perhaps we would have also gotten one or two wickets, and batsmen would have easily scored 40 runs.” He continued, “In my time, in 170 T20 matches, it perhaps happened only twice that I conceded more than 40 runs. In today’s era, if a spinner concedes 40 runs, it is considered that he bowled well. We cannot compare these two eras.”