High-scoring fixtures have been one of the highlights of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) with the wickets in both Dhaka and Sylhet receiving applause from all corners for providing exciting contests so far in the meet.

Sixes and fours have been raining down at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium and the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium with the record for the most number of sixes in a BPL match broken twice within the first 10 games of the tournament.

Although the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is currently struggling with many off-field issues, the BCB officials can pat themselves on the back for ensuring that the wickets in BPL this year have been up to par so far, which hasn't always been the case in this competition.

"There are some venues where the grounds are small or a particular area is small and it can be an exception. But as we have space here, my question is why should we shorten the boundary? We will gain nothing out of it."

— BPL governing council member secretary Nazmul Abedeen Fahim

However, after Fortune Barishal skipper Tamim Iqbal expressed discontentment regarding the boundary length of the venues after their match against Durbar Rajshahi in Sylhet on Monday, fresh doubts gave crept up about whether the high scores are all cooked up.

Tamim said in the post-match presentation: "The way grounds have been prepared is very good. What I would like to see are bigger boundaries. I don't know why we are playing with 58-60 metre boundaries when there is space available."

According to the International Cricket Council's (ICC) playing conditions guidelines, in men's T20 cricket, the maximum boundary length is 90 yards (82.29 metres) while the minimum is 65 yards (59.43 metres) from the centre of the pitch.

According to a list obtained by The Daily Star, till match Day 5 of BPL on Monday, the maximum boundary length was 70 yards (64.09 metres) while the minimum was 64 yards (58.52 metres).

The list is provided by the curators in Dhaka and Sylhet. However, the players' and others present at the ground have expressed doubts about the accuracy of the information.

During Monday's match between Rajshahi and Barishal, broadcasters measured a six that travelled only 52 metres.

The broadcasters also provided separate figures about boundary dimensions, according to which the shortest boundary length at the Sylhet venue was 55 meters. So how could a shot travel three metres less than that and still be counted as six, is a puzzling question.

When contacted, BCB Grounds Committee Manager Abdul Baten denied having any knowledge on the matter although he insisted that the boundary lengths adhere to the international standards.

"The boundary lengths follow the international rule. I have to check it again, but I don't agree with what you are saying," Baten told The Daily Star.

Meanwhile, Mirpur curator Gamini de Silva and Sylhet venue manager Joydeep Das denied speaking on the matter.

BPL governing council member secretary Nazmul Abedeen Fahim told The Daily Star that he had expressed his dissatisfaction to the curators after seeing the truncated boundaries and said he has no knowledge about anyone from his department giving any such instruction.

"I told him [pitch curator] that the boundary lengths should be increased. I don't know if anyone from the BPL governing council had given any such instructions [about reducing boundary length]. I certainly didn't give any such direction."

Fahim also talked about the problems that can stem from having shorter boundaries.

"It will create a false sense of confidence among the batters. Spinners will have no impact in the matches and pacers will also lose confidence. There are many effects of it and none of them are positive.

"There are some venues where the grounds are small or a particular area is small and it can be an exception. But as we have space here, my question is why should we shorten the boundary? We will gain nothing out of it," Nazmul concluded.

As neither the BPL governing council nor the grounds committee is accepting the blame, the question arises, did the boundary ropes just magically shrunk themselves?