Ravichandran Ashwin has reignited the debate about T20 scheduling after India’s chase of 209 against New Zealand in Raipur. The veteran all-rounder argued that twenty-over cricket, as currently scheduled, often favours batters — especially when dew arrives — and he called for more day games or smarter venue planning to restore balance between bat and ball.
Ashwin’s criticism focused on evening conditions that make bowling progressively harder. Watching India complete the chase in just 15.2 overs, he said the match exposed how dew can render even good bowling ineffective. “This is unfair cricket,” Ashwin said on his YouTube show, adding that when night conditions take over, “there’s little requirement for cricket skills.” He suggested the same pitch in daylight would have a par score nearer 160–165 rather than 209.
The core of Ashwin’s point is straightforward: dew reduces the margin for bowlers to influence the game. Good deliveries skid on and get punished; variations lose their sting. The result is an “unreal imbalance” that distorts selection, tactics and careers.
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Ravichandra Ashwin warned that bowlers are unfairly judged when fixtures force them to operate in conditions that neutralise their craft, and that a single night game can unfairly alter public perception of a player’s form.
Rather than accept the status quo, Ashwin proposed practical fixes. If organisers dislike daytime T20s, they should at least pick venues and schedules with recorded histories of dew and daytime behaviour. Other cricket boards keep month-by-month records of pitch characteristics and dew patterns; India should follow that model. With better data, fixtures could be allocated to reduce late-evening advantages and preserve contest integrity.
Ashwin urged selectors and team management to factor in conditions when assessing workload and performance, so bowlers are not unduly penalised for circumstances beyond their control. A seamer who leaks runs in a dew-soaked night game might be unfairly judged as out of form, while the real issue is environmental.
His intervention is timely. As T20 scores rise, organisers must balance fans’ preferences with fair competition. Ground management and smarter scheduling — in particular, more day games at dew-prone venues — would help level the contest.
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Practical measures include maintaining dew maps, adjusting start times, consulting meteorological data and sharing that intelligence with teams. Players, selectors and broadcasters would benefit from clearer protocols, reducing unfair outcomes caused by predictable dew. If the sport is to reward skill rather than weather, Ashwin’s call for more daylight T20s and smarter venue selection deserves serious consideration from administrators.
