Is T20 cricket too one-sided? Legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar certainly thinks so—and he's proposing a bold rule change that could shake up the IPL as we know it. In his latest column for Mid Day, Gavaskar argues that the modern game has tilted too heavily in favor of batters, thanks to flat pitches, short boundaries, and rules that leave bowlers with little room to breathe. His solution? Reward wicket-takers with an extra over.

"If a batter can bat the entire 20 overs, why can't a bowler who gets three wickets in his four overs be allowed to bowl another over as a reward?" Gavaskar wrote. The idea is simple: any bowler who takes three or more wickets in their allotted spell would earn a fifth over. This, he believes, would encourage attacking bowling instead of defensive, run-saving tactics. "The best dot ball is the wicket-taking dot ball, isn't it?" he added.

Gavaskar points to the avalanche of centuries and massive totals in IPL 2026 as proof that the scales have tipped too far. While high-scoring games can be entertaining, he argues that tighter contests on more challenging surfaces are far more thrilling than one-sided run-fests. He specifically noted how batters have struggled against genuine pace on livelier pitches—citing Jofra Archer and Kagiso Rabada as examples of bowlers who could thrive under such a change.

To illustrate how the rule might work in practice, Gavaskar referenced Bhuvneshwar Kumar's recent four-wicket haul against Mumbai Indians. Under the proposed change, a bowler delivering that kind of performance could be trusted with an extra over at the death—a game-changing twist that could redefine strategy in the death overs.

Of course, any major rule tweak needs testing, and Gavaskar suggests trialing the idea in domestic tournaments before bringing it to the IPL. For now, it's a thought-provoking proposal that has fans and pundits debating: would rewarding bowlers with an extra over finally restore balance to the beautiful game?