Fine for Slow Over-Rate Doesn’t Make Any Sense

RCB lost to KXIP in their second match and it was a totally bad day for the captain Kohli. He dropped two catches of KL Rahul who went on to score 132 runs, 21 more than the whole of RCB. He also batted poorly getting out quite easily on a Cottrell’s short ball. His misery, however, did not just stop there. In addition to a poor showing with bat and captaincy, he was also fined Rs 12 lakhs for slow over-rate in their last match.

These fines, however, are not paid by the captain of the team, Kohli in this case, but from the finances of the team itself. So although Kohli who earns $26 million a year would not have any problem paying it, he still doesn’t have to. This guy charges around Rs 1.3 Crores ($ 175,000) for a promotional post on Instagram! Rs 12 Lakh is certainly not much for him or the team.

Do these fines work even work?

This fine has started a discussion among my friends about its efficiency in curbing the slow over-rate problem. Are these fines really helpful in these cases? Rs 12 Lakh to gain a tactical advantage would be considered a good investment by these franchises. Wouldnt a team pay 12 Lakh for something that potentially helps them win a game? The slow over rated kills the momentum of the team and although KXIP did well to manage it, it could have gone the other way. They could have lost wickets in the middle and the outcome could have been very different.

What would be a better deterrent?

A penalty in runs or points would certainly be a better way to fine the team for slow over-rate. Since these monetary fines are chump changes for these franchise and would do nothing to stop these from happening again. A team would be very happy to win 2 points and lose 12 Lakhs. It’s just a slap on the wrist for these multi-million dollar franchises.

No crowd, a reason for slow over rates?

These slow over rates could be attributed to a lack of crowd in this year’s IPL. As outlandish as it sounds there is actually a good justification for this claim. See, in a regular cricket match when the ball is hit for a six, usually the crowd fights for the ball and soon one person throws it back to the nearest fielder. In this IPL however, there is no crowd to do this. There is a sharp increase in the balls being lost in the stands as there is no one to find it and throw it back to the ground. This means there are more ball changes in this year’s tournament. Umpiring staff running with the box of balls is a usual sight in this year. Changing the ball or retrieving it from the ground certainly takes time and that could potentially be a reason for a slow over-rate.

The IPL governing body should certainly take a look at that and figure out what the actual problem is. If ball retrieval is the cause of these slow over rates then certainly the captains cannot do anything about it. On the other hand, if these are done to gain a tactical advantage then no amount of money could justify the damage it does to the momentum of an opposing team. These fines are useless.