It's up to consumers to decide if IPL's run-fests are boring or not, says James Franklin

Former New Zealand pacer and current Sunrisers Hyderabad assistant coach James Franklin believes it is ultimately up to fans to decide if high-scoring IPL matches are boring, as the game remains heavily skewed in favour of batters. Im getting consumed by whats happening in the here and now, Franklin said when asked if the high-scoring contests in the IPL are becoming boring.

Former New Zealand pacer and current Sunrisers Hyderabad assistant coach James Franklin believes it is ultimately up to fans to decide if high-scoring IPL matches are ''boring'', as the game remains heavily skewed in favour of batters. As many as 31 scores in excess of 200 have been recorded in 40 matches of IPL 2026 so far, which includes the season-best of 265/4 by Punjab Kings in reply to Delhi Capitals' 264/2 in Delhi a few days ago. ''From my point of view, I'm deeply entrenched in the game. I'm getting consumed by what's happening in the here and now,'' Franklin said when asked if the high-scoring contests in the IPL are becoming boring. ''The opinion of whether it's getting boring or not is probably up to the likes of yourselves and the consumers that watch it. ''We're dealing with the here and now in terms of this in real time, this is how the games are panning out at the moment that are high scoring. We have to, from a coaching and a team point of view, work generally with that,'' the Sunrisers Hyderabad assistant coach added. Few days after amassing a 260 plus score this season, Delhi Capitals also registered the lowest total when they were shot out for 76 by Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Monday. Franklin said it will be interesting to see if the future editions of the IPL would have more for the bowlers as the game is ''very skewed''. ''I didn't actually watch last night's game; I caught up with it on a scorecard (later). I couldn't really quite believe what I saw,'' Franklin said. ''At the moment, in IPL particularly, we're getting so used to these 200 plus scores, so to see a scorecard totally opposite end of the spectrum was quite amazing.'' ''It'll be interesting to see how it moves going forward; not just through this tournament, but potentially future editions of IPL - whether you start to get it a little bit more balanced back towards the bowling side of it,'' he said. Franklin added, ''It does feel at the moment, things are very skewed in the batter's favour. Whether that's the pitches, the impact player rule, (or) the skill set of the batters (that) are just very, very high right now and the bowling is trying to catch up (and) whether it's the pitches, yeah. So, let's see, let's watch this space.'' Franklin admitted that a slower-ball first up against the swashbuckling Abhishek Sharma could be a good weapon. ''Yeah, possibly,'' he said. ''The one thing I'll say, as far as Abhishek is concerned, he is very detailed with how he plans and prepares for oppositions. He'll know and understand what MI's bowlers will try and present to him, particularly in the powerplay.'' ''He likes to have conversations around the different bowlers that he's going to be coming up against in the next game. So, he'll be well aware of potentially how they might come at him,'' Franklin added. Franklin denied the perception that SRH are over-dependent on their top-four. ''I don't think there's an over-reliance on the top four; they're doing an exceptional job as a unit. Every game that we've played so far, there's been significant partnerships between those top four, whatever combination you put together,'' he said. Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians' seamer Ashwani Kumar said the squad looked into their weaknesses and shortcomings over a two-day trip to Jamnagar. Ashwani said he is ready to share the new-ball responsibilities. ''I am preparing myself to be ready with the new ball whenever the opportunity comes my way,'' he said.