The popularity of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is reportedly taking a beating due to the late night finishes.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or the IPL governing council is yet to come down hard on teams or captains for not maintaining the over rates.
So far this season, only Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli has been fined by the board. Kohli was fined a massive Rs 12 lakh after his team was found guilty of maintaining a slow over-rate against Chennai Super Kings.
The board had imposed such a hefty fine because it was Royal Challengers’ first offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct related to minimum over-rate offences.
But apart from that, the board has not taken any action against the teams or the captains despite the late finishes.
The games are regularly ending between 11:45 pm and past midnight. The late finishes are taking a toll on multiple stakeholders in the game.
The International Cricket Council (ICC), rules state a T20I innings should not consume more than 75 minutes of play time. However, the games this season are taking close to four hours to conclude.
Those who are in the know of things are claiming the late finishes are not only affecting the viewership but also overall interest.
“Viewership is getting hugely affected, but that’s secondary. The primary thing is that the overall interest is taking a beating because of the late hours,” the source told TOI.
Meanwhile, poor umpiring is also affecting this season of IPL.
The board’s decision to give the Indian umpires exposure is not paying off well.
With close to one half of the season remaining, the board would be looking to rectify the mistakes to keep the popularity of the league intact.