Robin Uthappa, former India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter, has revealed a few changes he would like to make to the Indian Premier League (IPL) rules. The first and foremost change that Uthappa wants is to allow Indian players to play in foreign T20 leagues as well to enrich themselves.
He suggested it would help Indian players acclimatize to conditions before any big tournament in a foreign country.
"I want to change one thing in the IPL: Indian players should be allowed to play in different leagues. I always wanted to play more leagues to enrich myself as a cricketer. It's also why I retired early, according to me. Leverage the opportunity. If there is a World Cup in Australia, allow ten players to go and play the Big Bash. That's the angle that I don't get, and I think we are still stuck," Uthappa said on CommBoxTV.
The former CSK player objected when asked if the limit of four foreign players in the starting eleven should be lifted. He believed that if there was no cap on the number of foreign players in the XI, young players like Vaibhav Suryavanshi would not succeed.
"That's not going to change. It's the Indian Premier League. That won't change. One of the reasons we have youngsters like Vaibhav coming through the ranks is because this exists, right? From an Indian cricket standpoint, it will be a disservice,” he stated.
A few other things that Robin Uthappa would want to see changed in the IPL were also discussed. Among other things, the former CSK star believed that each side should be permitted to utilize 14 players and make replacements, just like in football, or that the impact player regulation should be permanently repealed.
"I'd either allow 14 to play or not have the impact player rule at all. Bring in full substitutions or remove it completely. Every franchise should own their own stadium. I'd love the draft system to come in instead of the auctions. It would be really entertaining. People are not maximizing that. I would also have a junior development IPL with all the same franchises. I mean a U-18 or U-19 thing. We've got the likes of Vaibhav Suryavanshi coming through. I think the IPL should be a 4-5 month affair," Uthappa added.
Speaking further, Uthappa suggested that players like Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should stick to T20 cricket and allow specialists to play Test cricket. However, he was not against some players featuring across formats.
"We're going to see the onset of Vaibhav-like players. Priyansh Arya, Urvil Patel, Prabhsimran Singh. These guys are going to come through. When they do, they will not be focusing on red-ball cricket at all. Their game is not going to be set up for red-ball. You will have a set of certain segmented people, like Easwaran (who could go to tests), and everyone else comes to T20. I'm not saying everyone will miss out. Some will play three or two formats. Then the onus is on the player, and they should be given that autonomy to pick and choose,” Uthappa added.
Robin Uthappa had a fulfilling career in the IPL, playing for several franchises, including the Mumbai Indians (MI), RCB, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Rajasthan Royals (RR), and the now-defunct Pune Warriors India (PWI), apart from CSK. He won the IPL in 2014 with KKR and in 2021 with CSK.
