Fraser Stewart, MCC’s head of cricket, calls out IPL’s slow over-rate problem
MUMBAI: Slow over-rates, stretching matches well beyond their scheduled duration — have become an unwelcome norm in IPL 2026. Mumbai Indians versus Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Wankhede on April 12 was a case in point. With no weather interruptions, the match carried on for four hours and 21 minutes, one of the longest in IPL history, before RCB sealed an 18-run win close to midnight.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya became the fourth captain this season to be fined for a slow over-rate. But penalties, it appears, are doing little to curb the trend. The issue has now caught the attention of the game’s lawmakers, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
“It’s a real issue. We were there for the game,” said Fraser Stewart, MCC’s Head of Cricket speaking here on Tuesday. “What struck us was the pace — how slow it was, with so many stoppages.
In The Hundred, a wicket falls and a 60-second clock starts. The next batter must be ready or the team concedes five penalty runs. I know it’s hotter here and people have to have drinks and stuff, but there were just so many people running on and off the pitch all the time.
There was no urgency,” Stewart said. He also pointed to structural reasons behind the slowdown. “The umpires were letting it be slow.