The Indian Premier League (IPL) will not be expanded for at least eight years after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) promised to retain the competition’s current slot in the calendar diminishing fears that its growth was threatening the supremacy of international cricket.
“A commitment” has been made by the BCCI, Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards told ESPNcricinfo, after concerns had been expressed that India intended to “leave world cricket behind”.
Edwards continued to compare the possible impact of the IPL to that the Kerry Packer movement had in the late 1970s when the world’s best players were taken from their countries to play World Series Cricket.
“There was a very real chance that India would have gone on an IPL voyage and left world cricket behind,” said Edwards. “If that had have happened, you were looking down the barrel of a Kerry Packer moment.
“It would have been easy to say ‘they aren’t going to do it, they want to play in World Cups’, but that was a reality,” Edwards added. “We have a commitment from them that IPL will not change during this eight-year cycle - dates won’t change, the start date won’t change and the length of the tournament won’t change.
“They’ve given us that commitment and that was important to us,” Edwards enforced. “IPL is important to them, and to the world of cricket players who make a lot of money out of it, and we didn’t want to see it grow.
“We’ve also negotiated with India to pay the countries more for their players.
“We’ve got good understandings on that, they’ve been very straightforward and I believe them.”
While the BCCI will be aware they need the cooperation of Cricket Australia and other Test nations, it is in all parties interest that a middle ground can be sought. If the Indian authorities had felt it necessary to flex its mighty muscles Edwards believes a much diluted international arena would have been the outcome with players chasing financial reward over Test caps. The risk of that scenario becoming reality was not one Cricket Australia wanted to risk.
“Why would you risk turning the IPL into a travelling circus that would take all our good cricketers 12 months of the year and leave us with second rate international cricket,” Edwards asked. “It’s not a pretty thought, but it’s possible, and they know that.
“Maybe in the end it will still happen one day, but I don’t think it will happen in the next eight years.”
Edwards also revealed to ESPN CricInfo that the MPA for the next round of television rights was still to be signed by the BCCI.
“India are strong and we’ve got to recognise that, but what we want them to do is be part of the decision-making process and be in the ICC rather than just turning up and being aggressive, angry and unhappy,” he said. “That’s where they are, they’re unhappy.
“They’ve said more than once ‘you can have a World Cup but we won’t be coming’.
“We can argue they might come, but will they come to Champions Trophy or a World Twenty20? They might not.
“I can easily see them not coming.”
James Buttler
As the editor of World Cricket Badger he is intent on building the website to give quality coverage of the domestic game around the world.
He is also the presenter of the Cricket Badger Radio Show on Radio Yorkshire every Tuesday evening between 7-9pm UK time.
James was the full-time Media Manager at Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 2007 and 2010.
James is a published author, a writer/video contributor to many cricket publications and a complete cricket badger!
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