IPL’s global dominance is dangerous: Gilchrist

FORMER Australia captain Adam Gilchrist on Wednesday (27) 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 Australian media saying batter David Warner will skip Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) this season to participate in a new league in the United Arab Emirates, 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.

IPL team owners have also bought all six franchises of South Africa’s new domestic T20 league, while three IPL franchise owners -- 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