Reduce BCCI’s revenue and the IPL could expand
I’VE BEEN UNDER THE IMPRESSION FOR SOME TIME THAT MANY CRICKET OFFICIALS BELIEVE THE GAME CAN SURVIVE ON T20 ALONE
If you, then, add the BBL success (both financial and support wise) and the fact that Cricket Australia only makes a profit from one or two at most, international tours, then expansion could also be on the horizon for this tournament.
England is also in the process of conducting a city-based T20 tournament and if this takes off, who knows what destination they might have in mind.
I’ve been under the impression for some time that many cricket officials believe the game can survive on T20 alone. Consequently it’s not hard to visualise Test cricket being shortchanged when it comes to the nurturing it needs. There are two things that might stand in the way of any concerted T20 push. Firstly, there’s India’s Committee of Administrators (CoA), who have taken a very firm stand with the BCCI over its flimsy attempts at governance.
However, the BCCI could simply acquiesce to the CoA demands and once they are given the green light to conduct business freely, they could execute their plan for IPL expansion.
Then there’s FICA, the international players association. If the players were totally committed to Test cricket remaining the prime form of the game, they could take a stand against any decrease in the scheduling of the longer version.
However, this is unlikely on the basis that, firstly the Indian players are not a part of FICA and secondly, the better players are usually the most influential in these associations. The better players are also the best rewarded and the ones who are most likely to be in demand at the more glamorous T20 tournaments.
Considering how much importance cricket officials place on the bottom line, it’s unrealistic to expect the players not to take a similar approach.
Cricket needed a grand overall plan for the game when the rebel Indian Cricket League was introduced in 2007.
It wasn’t forthcoming then and questions such as how many forms of the game does cricket need and (if the answer is two, which one needs to be discarded), have remained un-asked.
For a long time cricket has been a runaway train, careering ahead without an obvious destination in mind. If the BCCI reacts angrily to the recent ICC rejection, the destination for cricket’s future could become clear and the journey may well be considerably curtailed.