section_path: Controversies/Strategic timeouts
section_name: Strategic timeouts
paragraph_text: Strategic timeouts
  
  In its Third season in 2010, the IPL administration brought a new rule: "strategic timeout " of seven minutes and fifty seconds duration in each inning. Franchises and Sachin Tendulkar disapproved of it. Many saw it as the BCCI's use of 'extended drinks break' to earn money; it faced widespread backlash. Then-IPL president said that the rule is intended to allow teams to make strategies during the game. Still, critics disagreed with this argument and said that the strategic timeout is a way to generate money. Later, the BCCI reduced its duration but still applied it.
  
  These timeouts boost the IPL's revenue; every 10-second slot gets sold for ₹5 lakhs or more. Due to these timeouts, an IPL match halts four times for more than 10 minutes. As per Sunil Gavaskar, along with many other reasons, strategic timeouts delay the IPL matches, causing them to not end at the stipulated time of 3 hours and 10 minutes but rather after 4 hours. During the Super Giants versus Mumbai Indians eliminator game in 2023, he uttered on-air, "How many times batsmen get out after a strategic timeout, " indicating that it plays a negative role in immediate fall of wickets by disrupting concentration of the batters.
  
  Some cricketers have criticized strategic timeouts for interrupting the flow of play. In the past, it even faced Public Interest Litigation (PIL) with the possibility that ST breaks were being used by bookies to connect with players. In the past, IPL's stakeholders admitted that STs are unavoidable because they provide the BCCI and broadcasters with additional time for more ads. In 2013, after a spot-fixing matter, then-president N. Srinivasan got sacked due to a pending inquiry, and Jagmohan Dalmia got appointed as interim president. Dalmia expressed openly that he wants to end STs and take other measures to restrain malpractices in the IPL.
  
  In its Third season in 2010, the IPL administration brought a new rule: "strategic timeout " of seven minutes and fifty seconds duration in each inning. Franchises and Sachin Tendulkar disapproved of it. Many saw it as the BCCI's use of 'extended drinks break' to earn money; it faced widespread backlash. Then-IPL president said that the rule is intended to allow teams to make strategies during the game. Still, critics disagreed with this argument and said that the strategic timeout is a way to generate money. Later, the BCCI reduced its duration but still applied it.
  
  These timeouts boost the IPL's revenue; every 10-second slot gets sold for ₹5 lakhs or more. Due to these timeouts, an IPL match halts four times for more than 10 minutes. As per Sunil Gavaskar, along with many other reasons, strategic timeouts delay the IPL matches, causing them to not end at the stipulated time of 3 hours and 10 minutes but rather after 4 hours. During the Super Giants versus Mumbai Indians eliminator game in 2023, he uttered on-air, "How many times batsmen get out after a strategic timeout, " indicating that it plays a negative role in immediate fall of wickets by disrupting concentration of the batters.
  
  Some cricketers have criticized strategic timeouts for interrupting the flow of play. In the past, it even faced Public Interest Litigation (PIL) with the possibility that ST breaks were being used by bookies to connect with players. In the past, IPL's stakeholders admitted that STs are unavoidable because they provide the BCCI and broadcasters with additional time for more ads. In 2013, after a spot-fixing matter, then-president N. Srinivasan got sacked due to a pending inquiry, and Jagmohan Dalmia got appointed as interim president. Dalmia expressed openly that he wants to end STs and take other measures to restrain malpractices in the IPL.