'If the Game Gets Boring...' IPL Putting Business Before Cricket? SRH Spin Coach's Bold Claim

SRH spin coach Muttiah Muralitharan has made a rather bold claim that the IPL prioritises business over cricket. The Sri Lankan legend said that it was more of a commercial and entertainment product rather than a developmental platform. Muralitharan said that the reason why bowlers were constantly under pressure was because the viewers had to be kept interested. That’s why batters were attacking right from the start instead of easing themselves in.

Muttiah Muralitharan’s Bold Claim

When Muralitharan was asked if reduced boundary sizes were making life tough for bowlers, he said it was the wickets. But he added if the wickets were fair, spectators would call it boring. This was after the game between SRH and MI, were SRH chased down a target of 244 with ease. Just before that game, RR chased down a target of 223 vs PBKS and then during the weekend, PBKS chased a target of 265 successfully vs DC. So Muralitharan may have a point here.

"I think it is the wickets. We can give fair wickets but then the spectators will say it is boring," said the man who helped Sri Lanka win the 1996 ODI World Cup and currently has the most Test, ODI and international wickets to his name. He was also part of the Sri Lankan side that jointly won the 2002 Champions Trophy with India.

Impact Player Rule

"The 2020 followers are very entertainment (oriented), so they want to see fours and sixes, so that's why the tournament is built like that, and the extra player to come and bat, and (teams) not to go low on scores,” he added when asked about the Impact Player rule.

Game Needs to Be Interesting

“So making it an entertainment. This is not looking at like you are developing cricket or not. So it is a big business at the moment, right? Sponsors and everything. If the game gets boring, you lose the sponsors and interest of the people," he continued.

How Is IPL 2026 Shaping Up?

The stats do support Muralitharan to some extent. As many as 31 games have seen teams post at least 200 and nine of them have been chased down successfully. So far, 42 games have been played and all 10 teams have a chance to grap the four Playoffs spots.