Here’s a list of some practical - some quirky - new trends that would make the lives of T20 bowlers easier.
Ever wondered why T20 cricket keeps finding newer ways to favour batters, but rarely pauses to ask what the bowlers might need to survive in a format built for sixes, flat pitches and boundary-hunting intent?
From impact substitutes to the shortest of boundaries – the one in Nagpur for the first India-New Zealand T20I was 48 metres on a side – the shortest format has evolved almost entirely around run acceleration. Yet, as scores keep ballooning and margins for error shrink, the bowlers are left operating in a game where perfection is expected but rarely rewarded. Which raises a simple, slightly mischievous question: what if T20s finally gave bowlers a few tactical weapons of their own?
A recent brainstorming session threw up some ideas that felt part strategy, part chaos, and entirely on brand for the format.
Retiring a bowler out mid-over
Retiring out a batter has become a modern T20 tactic in its own right. Teams have the option to call back struggling batters, and are also increasingly using it to capitalise on deep batting line-ups, like when well-settled batter Harleen Deol, of UP Warriorz, was asked to retire out just to make way for others. The trend has picked up this year, but it raises a question: why is it only the batters who get this luxury?
Take the flip side. Recently, in the first T20I against India, Zak Foulkes endured a lonely, punishing spell, conceding 67 runs in just three overs, the most expensive three-over spell in men’s T20I history. He just didn’t want to be there. Now, imagine if teams could retire a bowler mid-over in such situations. Currently, the rules only allow a bowler to leave mid-over if injured or penalised, but why not turn it into another tactical dimension?
A captain can bring an off-spinner in against a left-hander, and then swap him mid-over for a left-arm spinner if a right-hander walks in. Of course, to bring parity, the bowler retired out would not be able to bowl further, while the player who has replaced him will have the opportunity to bowl his quota of four overs, plus the additional balls from the spare over. Could be exciting!
A bowling powerplay
The death overs are where bowlers truly bleed. A tactical bowling powerplay of two overs, activated by the fielding side, may allow an extra fielder near the boundary during this phase. With more protection on the ropes, mistimed slog shots wouldn’t automatically turn into easy fours. For context, during the batting powerplay (overs 1-6), only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle, increasing to a maximum of five for the remaining 14 overs.
Now imagine a bowler-triggered powerplay: for two overs, six – or even seven – fielders patrol the rope. Suddenly, batters would have to think twice before blindly slogging. Precision would be rewarded, and smarter bowling plans could flourish. Taking it further, captains wouldn’t be bound to the final overs: they could trigger the powerplay at any moment. A dangerous partnership settling in the middle? Activate it. A dangerous batter just walked in? Don’t let him settle early. Much like batting, powerplays shift momentum; a bowling powerplay would give bowlers a genuine tactical tool to get the game’s rhythm towards them.
Making the toss less decisive
The toss has increasingly become one of the most decisive moments in modern T20 cricket, often shaping the contest before a ball is even bowled. With the rise of dew in evening matches, especially in subcontinental conditions, captains almost automatically choose to field first. In the Women’s Premier League, no team has won the toss and opted to bat first in the last two seasons! A wet ball makes it harder for spinners to grip, compromises yorker execution at the death, and turns even good deliveries into scoring opportunities. Under lights, pitches tend to quicken, outfields speed up, and chasing becomes significantly easier.
This is where reimagining the toss as more than a simple bat-or-bowl decision could rebalance the format. One creative twist would allow the toss winner to choose whether they would bat or bowl, while the opposing captain gets to influence boundary dimensions within regulated limits. Larger square boundaries but shorter straights, or the reverse, would turn ground geometry into a tactical element rather than a static feature, forcing teams to adapt plans before a ball is bowled. A side expecting heavy dew might opt to bowl first, only to find the chasing captain protecting the square boundaries to cut off the safer slog-sweep and pull shots.
No limit on the number of overs a bowler can bowl
If a batter can bat for 120 balls and practically own a T20 innings, why are bowlers treated like shift workers, clocking in for four overs and clocking straight back out? One side is allowed to ride form, feel and momentum. The other is stopped just when things are getting fun.
Now picture this: Jasprit Bumrah gets a spell where the batter can’t lay bat on ball. Edges flying, yorkers dipping, panic setting in. And just when the pressure is boiling over, he has to disappear because his quota is done. In what world does that make cricket more exciting? Imagine if he could keep coming back. Sixty balls of Bumrah when he’s on song. Or Rashid Khan staying on while batters are second-guessing every step down the pitch. Or a swing bowler under lights being allowed to attack until the ball stops talking.
And no, this doesn’t mean one bowler bowls ten overs while everyone else merely watches. A team loading up on just two bowlers is one bad day away from getting absolutely smashed. You still need options, changes, different angles, and backup plans, but it allows the best of players to have the biggest impact in the game, as it should be.
No-Strike balls
Right now, once a ball is bowled, what happens next is largely at the batter’s whim. They can refuse a single, manipulate strike rotation, or even shield a weaker partner, keeping the more aggressive batter on strike. Bowlers have no equivalent tool to push back.
With a No-Strike Ball, the bowler gets to call one delivery per innings where the strike cannot change, no matter what the batter does. The run counts, but the same batter must face the next ball. This gives bowlers a rare tactical weapon to force batters into uncomfortable situations, forcing them to think on the go.
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