Has IPL Become Entertainment Over Technique?

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has done a lot for Indian cricket since it began in 2008. Over the years, the tournament has grown massively and is now one of the biggest cricket leagues in the world. From discovering young talent to changing the way T20 cricket is played, the IPL has completely changed Indian cricket in many ways.

But at the same time, it also raises an important question: has this change actually helped the Indian team in international cricket, or has the game become more about entertainment than technique? With batting-friendly pitches and high-scoring matches becoming common, it’s worth discussing whether the IPL is truly preparing players for tougher international conditions.

• Batting Friendly Pitches

Over the last few years, IPL pitches have become heavily batting-friendly. Scores like 200 or even 250 no longer feel safe, which says a lot about how much the game has changed. More often than not, pitch curators are expected to prepare surfaces that favour batters and produce high-scoring matches because that is what attracts viewers and creates excitement.

But the real question is, are these pitches actually helping batters improve?

In my opinion, not really. Many batters today rely more on power-hitting than proper technique because the conditions allow them to play freely without much fear. On flat pitches with short boundaries, even mistimed shots can go for six. As a result, some players look unstoppable in the IPL but struggle badly when they step into international cricket, where pitches offer movement, bounce, or spin.

This not only affects the Indian team but also hurts the confidence of players who dominate the IPL and then fail at the international level. The transition becomes much harder because international cricket demands adaptability, patience, and technique; things that are not always tested on batting-friendly IPL pitches.

So in the end, who is really benefiting from these kinds of pitches? The players, Indian cricket, or simply the business side of the tournament?

• Impact Player Rule

The Impact Player rule is honestly one of the most unnecessary rules introduced in the IPL. Even many current and former cricketers have spoken against it. Instead of improving the game, it feels like the rule is slowly pushing bowlers out of relevance.

Think about it, even if a bowling side manages to pick up wickets early, the batting team can simply bring in another specialist batter as an Impact Player. That means teams are effectively playing with eight or sometimes even nine proper batters. In a format that is already heavily tilted towards batting, this rule just makes life even harder for bowlers.

What makes it worse is the effect it has on all-rounders. Players like Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, and Abhishek Sharma used to contribute with both bat and ball, which added balance to the game. Now, teams often use them mainly as batters because they can always substitute another player later. Seeing part-time bowlers or batting all-rounders complete their full role has become much rarer.

Cricket has always been about balance between bat and ball, but rules like this make the format feel too one-sided. The BCCI really needs to reconsider whether this rule is helping the game or simply making matches more batter-friendly for entertainment purposes.

At the end of the day, the IPL has definitely changed Indian cricket in many positive ways, but it also brings up some real concerns that we can’t ignore. The game is becoming more and more batter-friendly, and while that makes it exciting for fans, it sometimes feels like the real balance of cricket is getting lost.

Rules like the Impact Player and consistently flat pitches might be helping entertainment, but they also raise questions about how prepared players really are for international cricket, where conditions are completely different.

Maybe the point isn’t to criticize the IPL, but to ask whether we are moving too far in one direction. Because in the long run, great cricket has always been about balance, between bat and ball, between entertainment and skill.

Thank You,

Advait Kadam

Cricket Analyst