Towards an uniform calendar

With the success of IPL, cricket boards around the world began chalking out their plans for creating their own cricket T20 leagues. Though nothing concrete has come out, the mushrooming of cricket leagues would begin sooner than later. ECB’s EPL, a T20 league for southern hemisphere and in the pipeline and are expected to slog off (rather than kick off) from 2010-11. And all are demanding a separate window for them. Surely this would lead to choked calendar. Therein in lies a serious problem. The ICC must act instead of allowing all and sundry to shift the blame on the BCCI. Come on, one must accept the fact that the IPL has added n (not just 1) new dimensions to the world of cricket. The concept of franchise or club cricket looks really promising. The future holds immense possibilities. However, it must be controlled effectively. Here are some of my ideas.

1.      There must be 3-3.5 month calendar free of international cricket for domestic cricket. It could run from Mar-May.

2.      All the T20 leagues should be played at the same time. A player can play only for one team or league like their football counterparts in Europe. This would help creating a loyal fan base.

3.      50-over format can also be protected by promoting it the franchise leagues around the world. A knockout or round-robin cum knockout 50-over tournament between IPL teams should definitely be interesting.

4.      The franchise or club system will help in the globalization of the games. With the creation of multiple leagues around the world, talent scouts will be forced to look beyond the Test world. Talented cricketers from Nepal, Afghanistan, Ireland, Fiji etc. where there is good interest for cricket can play in the leagues.

5.      1-1.5 month of the 3-3.5 months calendar should be preserved for domestic cricket. The finals of the Ranji or Pura Cup can be played with the full availability of international stars.