A day after expressing concerns over IPL franchises’ growing interest in buying teams in multiple leagues outside India, legendary Australian wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist said he is not against the cash-rich Indian T20 league but he finds it astonishing that Indian players are not allowed to ply their trade in different leagues across the globe.
“It would be excellent if the Indian players were permitted to play in T20 competitions outside of India; but, in my opinion, this will not hurt the Indian Premier League (IPL); rather, it will only help them expand as a brand,” Gilchrist was quoted as saying to the press.Â
“But the issue is that we are all playing our domestic seasons at the same time, so that is a hard thing, isn’t it?” he continued.
Adam Gilchrist talks about the IPL and other T20 leagues
Multiple IPL teams have begun to explore opportunities outside of India in recent years. Some of them have already purchased teams for the Caribbean Premier League, as well as for the soon-to-be-formed South Africa T20 league and the United Arab Emirates T20 league. Gilchrist described it as a “dangerous” tendency in the industry.
The three-time World Cup winner stated that he was not against the most popular Twenty20 league in the world, the Indian Premier League (IPL), but that he had yet to discover a reason for the absence of Indian players in the Big Bash League (BBL) and other leagues around the world. The three-time World Cup winner has played for teams such as the Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab in the IPL.
“I’m not trying to bash the Indian Premier League (IPL), but I don’t understand why Indian players never participate in the Big Bash league. Why do certain leagues have access to every player in the world? This is a question to which I have never received an open and honest response. There is not a single Indian player competing in any of the other T20 leagues. I am not trying to be offensive by asking this issue, but do you think it’s valid?” he inquired.
“I want to emphasize how much I enjoyed my time spent playing in the Indian Premier League throughout the course of those six seasons. It was a really enjoyable adventure. Although it is the most significant Twenty20 tournament in the world, it is essential that other boards and nations be allowed to thrive as well,” Gilchrist said.
