Shane Warne calls for changes in rules, wants more balance between bat and ball

Australian spin legend Shane Warne on Thursday suggested that rules of the game needed to be revisited to bridge the gap between bat and ball in the modern game.

In a day and age where there are heavier bats being used, and field restrictions becoming increasingly hard on the bowlers, the 47-year-old suggested the ball manufacturers should find ways to counter the willow, “Why has the ball not changed over the years? The ball manufacturers should do something with the ball. Maybe put some swing into the ball,” Warne was quoted as saying by PTI.

Warne added, “The ball we bowl with is still the same as it was 100 years ago. Size and seam, and while bats became bigger and heavier, boundaries brought closer and fielding restrictions introduced but the ball is still the same as it was,” he said.

The 1999 World Cup winner also pitched the idea of scrapping the field restrictions in the limited-overs contests, “Leave it to the bowling side captain to decide where to put his fielders. Let him have all the nine fielders on the boundary. Rules should not restrict who stands where,” Warne said.

Warne also suggested changes to limit run-fests in the shortest format of the game, “In a T20 game, there should be just four bowlers bowling four overs each. We should have better quality bowlers rather than part timers bowling absolute rubbish,” Warne added.

‘No Joe Root, and no AB De Villiers. It’s only Virat Kohli who makes me take notice.’

The second highest Test wicket taker singled out Indian skipper Virat Kohli as the best of the contemporary batters. He said: “No Joe Root and no AB de Villiers. It’s only Virat Kohli who makes me take notice.”

Asked about the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series, Warne stated that it would be much tighter contest than what most people believe.

In the lead up to the Border-Gavaskar series, veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh and former opener Virender Sehwag had predicted landslide wins for India.

Warne disagreed, “I don’t agree with what some of the pundits of the game have forecast. The series will be a lot more tighter than what many think. Australia has some amazing players and you just wait and see as the series progresses.”

“Australia’s mindset in this series is to attack. We are going to take it to India. It will be interesting to see what they do even as India definitely are favourites,” Warne said.