News India Live, Digital Desk: The bugle of IPL 2026, the world’s biggest cricket league, has been sounded. But this time along with the excitement, there is also a big question in the minds of experts and former cricketers, are we watching cricket or just counting the boundaries? The way runs have been scored in recent seasons has put a question mark on the fundamental spirit of the game (contest between bat and ball).

1. Impact Player Rules: ‘Call’ for bowlers?

The ‘Impact Player’ rule, introduced in the year 2023, has changed the face of the game.

Batting depth: Because of this rule, teams are now playing specialist batsmen till number 8 or 9.

Batting fearlessly: Batsmen no longer have the fear of wickets falling, because they know that there is another ‘impact’ batsman behind them. This is why ‘hitting’ starts from the very first ball.

Fall of all-rounders: Veterans like Axar Patel and Rohit Sharma have also expressed concern that this rule is eliminating the role of all-rounders, as teams are now giving priority to ‘specialist’ players.

2. Not 200, now even 250+ is not safe!

Statistics bear witness to the fact that the number of high-scoring matches in IPL has increased rapidly:

2022: Only 12.1% Scores of 200+ were scored in the innings.

2025: This figure increased 36.6% Reached.

Prediction for 2026: Veterans like Ravichandran Ashwin believe that this season 300 runs The magical figure of ₹ can also be crossed.

3. SRH vs RCB: Will records be broken again?

In the opening match of the season (SRH vs RCB), two teams which are known for their explosive batting are clashing. Sunrisers Hyderabad, which had scored a huge score of 287 runs last season, is coming with the same ‘ultra-aggressive’ mindset this time too. Chinnaswamy’s short boundary and flat pitch is going to be no less than a nightmare for the bowlers.

4. What do experts say?

While fans love the rain of fours and sixes, cricket pundits believe that:

“If the bowlers have no way to escape, the game will lose its relevance. A good match is one where even 160 can be defended in an exciting manner.”