'Change Ball Manufacturer': KKR Mentor Gautam Gambhir After High-Run Scoring Fixtures Flood IPL 2024

'Change Ball Manufacturer': Gautam Gambhir, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor, has suggested that the manufacturer of the ball being used in IPL should be changed.

'Change Ball Manufacturer': Kolkata Knight Riders coach Chandrakant Pandit and mentor Gautam Gambhir during a KKR training session. Gambhir has suggested on a podcast that the manufacturer of the balls being used in IPL should be changed.

Source : PTI

Gautam Gambhir, the former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain and their current mentor in the 2024 season of the cash-rich league, has come up with a unique suggestion in order to restore the balance between bat and ball. There have been several high-scoring fixtures already in IPL 2024 with the record for the highest team total broken twice by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in this season alone.

Amid all this, Gambhir has suggested that the manufacturer of the white cricket ball should be changed. The idea is to replace the current ball with one that perhaps offers a bit more lateral movement, giving something to the bowlers to play with.

"If a manufacturer cannot produce a ball which can last for 50 overs, might as well change the manufacturer. There’s nothing wrong with changing the manufacturer. What is this compulsion with only using the Kookaburra?," Gambhir said on the debut episode of 180 Not Out podcast.

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Harsha Bhogle Echoes Gautam Gambhir's Views

Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle also echoed similar views. Bhogle, who is on broadcast duties for IPL 2024, suggested that a Duke ball could be used so that there is some sort of balance in a sport, which is at heart, a contest between bat and ball.

"I will reiterate this. We need greater balance between bat and ball and in a situation where the pitches aren't helping, the ball must do more in the air. How about a Duke ball, a ball with a more pronounced seam, that allows more lateral movement and ensures batters can't just hit through the line at will. Love to hear expert opinions on this," he wrote in a post on X.

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Not much after Gambhir would have given this statement, his team KKR lost to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a high-scoring fixture which was decided on the last ball. While KKR made 223/6 batting first, RR chased it down with the help of a hundred from Jos Buttler (107* off 60).