LONDON, April 6: David Collier, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), said a version of the controversial Indian Premier League (IPL) could work well in England.
Collier’s comments came as he cast doubt on the participation of leading England players in the IPL, a domestic Twenty20 competition in India where newly created franchises have bid huge sums for the services of some of the world’s leading cricketers.The ECB, which pioneered Twenty20 as a professional event, is looking to expand its Twenty20 Cup which takes place in June to attract more of the game’s top players.
“It is a question of finding periods of the year for this to take place,” he told BBC Radio Five Live.
“We are one of the few countries who play in June, that is why our competitions are so successful because we can attract the best players in the world.
“That is why we believe that an English Premier League will be very successful including a broad range of cricketers.”
An expanded Twenty20 Cup is a topic set to be discussed when the ECB meets later this week.
At present, players contracted to play in the IPL, which has been sanctioned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the national governing body, can be withdrawn if they are required by their respective countries for international fixtures.
But the IPL, which begins on April 18 and runs for 44 days, clashes with both the start of the English domestic season and England’s home international programme, against New Zealand.
England batsman Kevin Pietersen, an obvious IPL target, has so far refused to become involved with the new competition because of his international commitments. But such are the sums of money involved the South Africa-born player said a compromise had to be found.
“You want your best players playing both for their country and for the IPL,” Pietersen told The Times.
“You don’t want them choosing between the two. It’s silly to think that you’re losing up to a million (US dollars) over six weeks. The schedules have to be sorted because the England players are the only ones missing out.”
Collier added on Sunday: “The obvious time for the IPL to play is April and May, but that clashes with the start of our international season.—AFP
