Rested well, time now for eight months of globetrotting
launch of the inaugural Mzansi Super League in South Africa later this week.
Cricket South Africa encountered some problems in launching their showcase tournament last year, but everything is now in place, the draft has been held and the six new-look franchise squads appear evenly balanced.
Anybody can beat anybody — that’s the essence of an exciting T20 competition, but, as captain of the Tshwane Spartans team, based at Supersport Park in Pretoria, I believe we have the right mix to be successful.
EMIRATES T20
No sooner than the Mzansi Super League final is won, the focus will switch to the Middle East where the new Emirates T20 league will be launched.
Leading players from around the world, including Steve Smith, the former Australian captain making a welcome return to the game, will be starring at venues across the United Arab Emirates. I have agreed to be a global ambassador for the new tournament, and the planning has been exciting.
It feels as though every organisation is trying to do something different, trying to introduce that daring innovation or intriguing variation that excites the global TV audience, that sets their tournament apart from the rest. This healthy competition between events is healthy for the game, a spur for progress.
BPL IN DHAKA
The Emirates T20 straddles Christmas and the new year holiday until, at the start of January, the Bangladesh Premier League gets underway in Dhaka.
The BPL has grown year upon year, and it’s been exciting to watch the matches on television from wherever I have been in the world. Now, finally, I will have the chance to participate, having been selected by the Rangpur Riders.
Tom Moody is admired as one of the leading T20 coaches on the circuit, and I am looking forward to playing alongside Chris Gayle, Alex Hales and others, and providing some high energy enter- tainment for the Rangpur supporters. Who organised this schedule? It’s starting to feel like Formula 1!
PSL FOLLOWS
Just days after the BPL final is won and lost, the Pakistan Super League will start in Dubai before moving to Pakistan for the knockout stages.
The PSL is another T20 tournament coming of age; it gets bigger and better with each passing season, and, having only watched from afar to date, I am excited by the prospect of participating in this tournament for the very first time.
I only expect to learn which team I will be representing after the draft is held on November 20, but I will definitely be playing in the 2019 PSL.
IPL TAKES THE CAKE
Mercifully, there will be a few weeks of rest between the final of the Pakistan Super League and the start of the Indian Premier League in April.
The IPL remains the biggest T20 tournament in the world, and I can’t wait to rejoin Virat Kohli and the rest of my teammates at Royal Challengers Bangalore, where we will all be working hard to erase the disappointments of 2018.
Everybody knows RCB have the potential to win the IPL, and nobody knows quite why we have tended to perform so far below that potential, but we’re not far away and I fully expect us to be extremely competitive in 2019.
There is speculation within the game about whether it will be possible for the IPL to take place in India next year, amid uncertainty about the timing of elections and all the associated implications for security arrangements. In an ideal world, the IPL will always take place in India, entertaining those amazing crowds in packed stadiums, but there are wider concerns and I’m sure the correct decision will be taken.
South Africa stepped in as hosts of the IPL in 2009, and there are rumours that, if it’s not possible to stage the tournament in India next year, the matches could be played either in South Africa or the United Arab Emirates. If the UAE is chosen as a venue, the groundsmen will be doing well to maintain pitches after the PSL. We will see what happens. What is beyond doubt is that, wherever the games are staged, the IPL will provide seven weeks of fantastic cricket and exceptional entertainment.
THE WORLD CUP
Then, when it’s all over, the leading cricketers in the world will immediately travel to England, host country of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, in time for the opening match of the prestigious showpiece event on May 30, 2019.
The World Cup final will take place at Lord’s on Sunday July 14, bringing to a close eight months of non-stop, top class white ball cricket, in what must be one of the most sustained bursts of intense action in cricket history.
Aside from all this action, there are the usual international series being played, offering more Tests, ODIS and T20s.
Has the game ever been in a healthier state? I doubt it.