Kolkata Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore said he hoped to have Indian Premier League (IPL) contract players for a 12-month period to play in different leagues.
“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,” Mysore said to the Daily Telegraph.
Mysore said he wanted to create a system and a culture that allowed KKR to participate in matches throughout the year.
“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 a successful business around it,” he said.
With these new proposed conditions, a player who represents KKR in the IPL could also play for other teams in other leagues as well. Mysore also said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was willing to let Indian players play in overseas T20 leagues.
"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 would be applying their minds to this idea. If it all comes together, it'd be terrific,” Mysore said.
Future of cricket
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell said on ESPNcricinfo that the topic regarding the future of cricket should have been discussed long ago.
“The future of the game needs thoughtful consideration. A firm decision is needed on how many playing formats are best for cricket. Once that is decided, it then needs to be confirmed how the formats should move ahead to ensure the game evolves,” he wrote.
According to Chappell, cricket has been played too much to the point that it’s detrimental to the players’ physical and mental health. He claimed that if the players were to be contracted to T20 franchises for the entire year in the future, other formats would be likely to drop out, even if this benefitted KKR to some extent.
Chappell cited the captain of the England team Ben Stokes, who just recently announced his retirement from 50-over games and said that it was no longer possible for him to compete in all three formats. Chappell also said that most veteran players only knew two formats.
If played well, the 50-over game could make for a good cricket match that is rewarding in entertainment value. When it comes to satisfaction, current players frequently place the IPL and T20 at the top of the list.
Chappell also said that cricket’s playing styles have changed in a drastic way for a few decades, but he still insisted there has been no certain future for the sport.
In almost 50 years, cricket has developed from being a semi-amateur sport, into a full-fledged professional endeavour. Despite T20 being a lucrative circuit, Chappell said the administrators couldn’t imagine the effect it had on the players.
While T20 has a tendency to be a power game and lasts only 40 overs at best, Chappell claimed players found them unfulfilling. T20 is suitable for many young cricketers as they can develop the skills required more quickly. As a result, Chappell concluded that the future of cricket was up to the younger players, but still need to balance future decisions with previous generations.
