Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has urged former India captain Sourav Ganguly to push for a major rule change in cricket, calling on the ICC to give fast bowlers more freedom when it comes to wide bouncer interpretations. Ganguly, who currently serves as chairman of the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee, has been specifically asked by Gavaskar to raise the issue during the committee’s next meeting. The former India opener believes modern cricket, especially the T20 format, has become increasingly tilted in favour of batters, leaving bowlers with very little margin for error.

Writing in his column for Sportstar, Sunil Gavaskar highlighted several factors that have contributed to the imbalance between bat and ball. According to him, shorter boundaries, heavier bats, batting-friendly pitches, and restrictive fielding rules have made life extremely difficult for fast bowlers in contemporary cricket.

However, Gavaskar reserved particular criticism for the current interpretation of wide bouncers. Under existing playing conditions, a short-pitched delivery that passes above the batter’s head in a normal batting stance is generally called a wide, something Gavaskar believes unfairly punishes pace bowlers.

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“There’s the ‘wide ball’ call for a bouncer going barely over the batter’s head. This is like asking a fast bowler to bowl with one hand tied behind his back,” Sunil Gavaskar wrote.

The cricket great argued that bowlers deserve more flexibility, especially in an era where batters continue to dominate limited-overs cricket. Gavaskar proposed a simple adjustment to the law by allowing bowlers a margin of roughly one foot above the batter’s head before the delivery is deemed illegal.

“If that rule can be tweaked to allow the quick a margin of one foot, approximately the length of the bat handle, above the head while in his batting stance, that would give the fast bowler some relief and encouragement to fire in some more,” he added. Gavaskar also reflected on his own tenure as chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee, recalling how the panel had earlier worked to reintroduce the bouncer as an attacking weapon in limited-overs cricket.

He noted that the decision helped restore balance and reduce pinch-hitters’ effectiveness during that period. “When I took over as Chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee, the other members joined me in bringing the bouncer back in the format, albeit one per over per batsman,” Sunil Gavaskar wrote.

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The former India captain insisted that quality batters should still be capable of handling deliveries rising slightly above head height. He believes the proposed change could make contests between bat and ball more competitive again, particularly in T20 cricket where even the world’s best fast bowlers often endure brutal punishment.

Gavaskar concluded by urging Ganguly and the ICC Cricket Committee to consider the concerns of the bowling fraternity and restore some much-needed balance to the modern game.