Due to venue counts, conditions are bound to vary more in IPL than in any other league.
In the SA20 for Paarl Royals, Dunith Wellalage and Bjorn Fortuin had bowled really well against MI Cape Town – the former conceded 17 runs and the latter gave 32 runs in their four-over spells. In the next fixture, both were dropped to accommodate Ehsan Malinga and Lungi Ngidi in the XI. Then Malinga and Ngidi warmed the bench in the following match, bringing Wellalage and Fortuin back to the fold.
For casuals, they might look like a confused team with a scattered strategy. In reality, it’s completely opposite; these have been strategic changes with a solid grasp of conditions. It’s worth noting that the Paarl Royals won all of these three games.
Cricket might be the most conditions-dependent sport in the world. Teams are still evolving and getting used to changing the so-called winning combination. But SA20 has taken the ‘horses for courses’ discourse to another level this season.
Since SA20 2024, spinners have averaged 28.38 and conceded only 6.65 runs per over in Paarl, the lowest among all venues. So, the Paarl-based franchise effectively used all spinners, including Joe Root. During their home encounter against Pretoria Capitals a few days back, the Royals used all 20 overs of spin, becoming the first T20 franchise to do so, while the number was 16 and 15 against Joburg Super Kings and MI Cape Town, respectively.
And it’s not only about Paarl Royals. Take Joburg Super Kings, for example. They have made the most changes (19) to their playing XIs this season, several of which were due to conditions.
At home, where pacers average 24.27 since SA20 2024, they have played four pacers in all four games and used them 62.02% of the time. Meanwhile, they played four spinners in Paarl and three in Cape Town, where spinners averaged 24.25. Collectively, JSK used them for 52.82% of spin overs in these two games.
A look at the difference between the number of overs bowled by spin and pace at every venue gives a clearer picture. Teams have bowled 61.2 overs more of spin in Paarl than pace, followed by Durban, where spinners have bowled 10.4 overs more than pacers this season. Meanwhile, pacers have bowled 38.4 and 69.2 overs more than spinners in Johannesburg and Centurion, respectively.
The difference in use of resources is clearly visible. It’s worth noting that all six teams have been proactive enough to field an ideal XI, regardless of the results. That’s where a league like IPL can evolve.
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India's changes started in domestic competition when the Impact Player rule was introduced in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Then, it was implemented in the IPL, which increased scoring rates to an unprecedented high. Last year, teams scored 9.56 runs per over, the highest in an IPL season.
There was a massive shift in batting approach, and IPL teams batted like never envisioned before. They went berserk from the first ball, and there was no room for anchoring, even after quick wickets, an approach even adopted by the likes of Virat Kohli. Some started from the first game, and others had no option but to match them in order to remain competitive.
However, the IPL sides have yet to adopt a proactive approach like these SA20 teams. Take Gujarat Titans (GT), for instance. They used the most players (23) in IPL 2024 but mostly due to their poor run, not the conditions.
For example, we will take their game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) from 2024. LSG read the conditions brilliantly and played three spinners. Meanwhile, GT fielded only one when they could have brought Sai Kishore for one of Darshan Nalkande or Mohit Sharma.
Later, they played three spinners against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur, where they could have been more attacking and fielded another speedster who could have operated more effectively in the powerplay. Pacers got ample movement with the new ball at this venue, something Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada exploited. Since GT didn’t, Mohit Sharma, who primarily bowls in the second half, had to come in the fourth over, the first time he bowled during the field restrictions in IPL 2024.
Successful teams like Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) were prudent with their personnel and chose players according to the surfaces. In Qualifier 2, they dropped Shahbaz Ahmed from the main XI but later brought him in the second innings to exploit slow conditions in Chennai. They also used Abhishek Sharma’s bowling in this match, and the two shared five wickets between them.
Despite the league’s evolution, teams are willing to stick with the winning combination. IPL is the benchmark in most cases, but this is an area where they lag behind, even when their own sister franchises have gone a step ahead in SA20. However, the changes might finally begin.
This IPL 2025 auction proved how teams slowly overcame the cliche by buying quality players over big names. Big-name flops like Quinton de Kock, Deepak Chahar, and even KL Rahul were not in high trend, while teams recognised actual quality ones like Noor Ahmad, Nathan Ellis and Marco Jansen. With teams getting more data-centric, those on-field tactics and personnel selection will evolve.
Due to the number of venues, conditions are bound to vary more in IPL than in any other league, although SA20 comes close. 13 grounds were used in IPL 2024, more than the number of teams. And T20 is never a game of being a one-trick pony.
India smartly used Mohammed Siraj in the T20 World Cup 2024’s USA leg. Kuldeep Yadav, India’s biggest wicket-taker, didn’t play since the surfaces were pace-friendly. When the West Indies leg started, they dropped Siraj despite him doing well in the USA leg and brought in Kuldeep Yadav.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) have been a culprit in sticking with limited players throughout the season, and it has backfired at crucial stages. The common trend with them in the previous cycle was that they started the first half on a high and kept losing games in the second half. That’s because they were stubborn not to chop and change according to the conditions, and teams found the loopholes on their side.
On the other hand, if they had a ‘horses for courses’ approach, RR would have been more successful after having such a quality side. It was really a waste of resources because they stuck with a winning combination. With Rahul Dravid at the helm now, RR might be more proactive from the next season.
Everything IPL does becomes a trend, but SA20, the South African version of IPL, has been tactically more sound. Now it’s up to IPL to meet the expectations and take their level a notch higher. The start began with the change in auction strategies, and maybe, SA20 will help them change their in-game methods as well.
Note: SA20 numbers are updated till 31 January 2025.
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