IPL 2025: Batting Paradise or a Bowling Nightmare?

"You might as well call our sport 'Batting' and not 'Cricket.'" 

That is the stark, sobering critique of the modern T20 game Kagiso Rabada recently gave. The South African fast bowler and a veteran of the world’s biggest stages had a brief stint for the Gujarat Titans in this year’s Indian Premier League before he returned home.

However brief his stint in this year’s IPL was, his frustration with the state of the format in the various leagues around the world was clear.

But it also echoes a concern that’s growing louder in the cricketing world: Is the game still balanced, or is it becoming a six-hitting circus?

Rabada, who I’m sure is not alone in this view, isn’t against high-scoring games. But when every match turns into a batting exhibition on flat decks with no help for bowlers, the contest he signed up for (bat vs ball) starts to look more like bat vs bowling machine. 

"High-scoring games are good, but so are low-scoring games. The most exciting ones are when the match hangs in the balance," he recently told the Indian Express. 

And right now, balance is in short supply.

A Record-Breaking Run-Fest

As of April 8, the 2025 IPL season has seen 13 team innings cross the 200-run mark, a blistering pace, especially considering the all-time season record (41) was only set last year. One team total has passed 250: Sunrisers Hyderabad's massive 286/6 against Rajasthan Royals, which remains the second-highest total in IPL history. Rajasthan’s chase was impressive as they scored 242/6 in response, underlining the sheer scale of the run-fest.

(*As of April 8, 2025)

Batting has continued to take centre stage and dominate headlines, with little resistance from the opposition bowlers. Powerplays are producing 90+ runs, and teams are maintaining 12+ RPO throughout the middle overs. In just the first five matches, 119 sixes were hit, and that pace hasn’t slowed significantly. The IPL 2025 has become a scoring spectacle. 

But not everyone is entertained.

Bowlers Getting Brutalised

Bowlers aren’t just being hit; they’re being humiliated. 

Jofra Archer’s 0/76 in 4 overs is now officially the worst bowling performance in IPL history. It beat the previous record (Mohit Sharma’s 0/73 in 2024), and it’s symbolic of the imbalance bowlers face.

The average economy rate across all bowlers this season is around 9.5 runs per over. In the first week alone, the run rate exceeded 10.7 RPO. Every over feels like a survival test, with batters launching from ball one.

Rabada’s concern is not nostalgic but rather about balance and the nail-biting games it presents to viewers and the players when it comes down to the best strategy at the end. “The most exciting games are ones where batters need to apply themselves, or bowlers have to step up to win it. It shouldn't be just survival for either.”

Even Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh added to the debate last month: "Credit goes to all the batters who went in and smashed from ball number one. That’s how it goes in this format nowadays. There is no par score, 240, 250, 260 – score as much as possible and then try and defend it." 

Bowlers are now forced to constantly reinvent themselves to stay relevant, he said. But how can a bowler plan anything when every pitch plays like a batting simulator or middle session with no real stakes at play?

Designed for Drama

Let’s be honest: this didn’t happen by accident. 

The IPL, and by extension the BCCI, have long prioritised entertainment. Smaller boundaries, flat decks, and the Impact Player rule have all tipped the balance toward the bat.

The Impact Player rule, in particular, has been transformative, giving teams a licence to attack from the first ball. Coaches have described it as a “performance-enhancing stimulant for batting.” Why hold back when a bowling option can be swapped in later?

But the results are worrying. In just the first 20 matches, there have already been over 30 individual half-centuries (50s), nearly every game delivers one. Yet, perhaps surprisingly, there’s only been two centuries so far: Ishan Kishan’s 106* for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the season opener and a brilliant 103 off 39 balls by the Punjab Kings’ Priyansh Arya. These two tons stand out in contrast to the 2024 edition, which produced a record 14 centuries and 128 fifties. Still, if this season continues on its high-scoring trajectory, expect that century list to grow.

The Way Forward

No one is suggesting we go back to the days of 120-all-out snoozefests. But something's off when bowlers are averaging nearly 10 RPO and can’t buy a wicket without being hit all over the ground.

A variety of surfaces, some that turn, some that seam, and some that bounce, would restore the balance to the game we all love. But right now, batters are dictating terms and stealing the headlines, while the bowlers are showing up to fight a losing battle.

Cricket is at its best when it’s a contest. Not when it’s just content for more than a billion viewers. Rabada has done more than deliver some criticism or a nice quote for an interviewer. He’s issued a warning, one that shouldn’t be taken lightly by cricket administrators around the globe.

The IPL might be the biggest T20 competition in the world, but its future depends on maintaining the essence of the sport: competition. Not just a spectacle. Let’s hope someone in the BCCI is listening before cricket becomes batting and bowlers become an endangered species.