IPL is likely to add two more teams in the competition from next year.
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar spoke on whether IPL teams should be allowed to play five foreign players or not. The tournament is likely to see two new teams in the upcoming edition and to make the competition even more exciting, the quota of foreign players per side may increase.
Manjrekar, while speaking to ESPNcricinfo, said he is in favor of allowing five foreign players per side if the tournament expands to 10 franchises. He said with two more new teams Indian players will get enough chances.
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“If IPL is going with 10 teams then you got to have five foreign players per side. Despite that, you will have 60 Indian players playing in the XI. They are a lot of Indian players," he said.
"When there was no IPL, T20, or 50-over cricket, only 13-14 players in the 70s or 80s played at the highest level and that’s where you got the cream of Indian players playing," Manjrekar added.
We have seen franchises benching popular foreign players because of the limitation. For instance, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) not only removed David Warner from the captaincy in IPL 2021, but they also couldn't even keep him in the playing XI because of the four overseas players quota.
"You already have plenty of Indian players and it is a shame to see some quality foreign players sitting out only because they can’t play more than four. So even if we go five foreign players, plenty of Indian players will get the opportunity," he further said.
"I don’t think it will a pressure that organizers feel that this is an Indian Premier League and got to have more and more Indian players and less foreign players. 60 is plenty," he signed off.
(With ESPNCricinfo Inputs)