DANGER OF IPL’S T2O ‘MONOPOLY’
Gilchrist: Warner picking UAE league over BBL is a warning
FORMER Australia captain Adam Gilchrist has voiced concerns over the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) expanding global footprint, saying the cash-rich league’s efforts to monopolise T20 franchise cricket are becoming “a little bit dangerous”.
Gilchrist’s comments came in the wake of reports in the Australian media that batter David Warner is set to skip Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) this season to participate in a new league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), backed by IPL money.
Warner plays for IPL side Delhi Capitals, owned by India’s GMR Group, which owns a team in the Emirati league. The new tournament’s schedule is set to clash with the BBL’s, which runs from December to early February 2023.
Team owners in the IPL have also bought all six franchises of South Africa’s new domestic T20 league, while three IPL franchise owners – those of Kolkata, Rajasthan and Punjab – own teams in the Caribbean Premier League.
“I think it would almost be commercial suicide for (Cricket Australia) to allow a player like him (Warner) to go head-to-head up against their own competition,” Gilchrist told Australia’s SEN Radio.
“They can’t force David Warner to play in the BBL… But to let him go off – or another player, let us not single out Warner because there will be other players on the radar – it’s all part of this global dominance that these IPL franchises are starting to create.
“It’s getting a little bit dangerous the grip that it’s having... to monopolise that ownership and the ownership of the players and their talents and where they can and can’t play,” he added.
Gilchrist said that veteran player Warner’s commitment to Australian cricket could not be questioned, but added that younger players could follow in his footsteps.
“If he rides off into the sunset and says, ‘Sorry Australian cricket, I’m going to become a gun for hire for my Indian franchise team in various tournaments’, you can’t question him on that,” Gilchrist said.
“That’s his prerogative and he’s done everything he needs to get the profile and get that market value. It’s the new younger player coming in that starts to make those noises where it will be really challenging.”
Meanwhile, Venky Mysore, the chief executive of IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders, revealed last week that francises were keen to sign up players for 12-month contract in order for them to be able to play in IPL-backed tournaments around the world.
“If we were able to have X number of contracted players, and were able to use them all in different leagues, I think that would be nirvana. Hopefully, someday it will happen. I would not be surprised if it did,” Mysore told the Telegraph.
“What we want to create is a common platform and a system and a culture that
allows us to participate around the year – enhancing our brand, building our fan base, and providing opportunities to cricketers around the world. And in the process, you build hopefully a successful business around it.”
Indian players are currently not allowed to play in overseas T20 competitions and also The Hundred. Mysore said this might change in the future, which could likely be a huge boost to the English game.
“Certainly we’re hoping that will happen at some point in the future,” Mysore said.
“When we broach this topic the BCCI say, ‘yeah, we have to figure out how to do something’. I think they have an open mind. But they need to figure out what’s best for Indian cricket and for Indian players. That’s how they would be thinking about it, which is fair enough.
“Some very good minds there would be applying their minds to this idea. If it all comes together, it would be terrific. “If that were allowed, even in a very limited way, it would eventually be good for Indian cricket. Some players who are not yet given a chance in the IPL could become the starting point.”