Former India captain and mentor of Delhi Capitals Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Sourav Ganguly has said that only a few T20 leagues with the cricketing ecosystem and which are financially sustainable will survive, while the rest will fade away.
This comes after players have been lured away by the growing number of T20 leagues and with them prioritizing franchise cricket over national duty.
The IPL leads the way in T20 franchise cricket with the likes of Big Bash League in Australia, the PSL in Pakistan, and others like BPL, CPL, and newer ones like the ILT20 and SA20 have entered the playing field as well.
"We keep talking about the leagues around the world, if you look at the IPL it is in a different ecosystem and different league, the Big Bash in Australia does very well, The Hundred does very well in the UK and I see the South Africa league doing very well, I have been watching it for last three weeks," he said at a Sportstar event.
"The common thing among all these leagues is that they are in countries where cricket is popular. So I believe over a period of time, four-five years, it is going to get to stage very few will exist and I know which ones will exist. Certain (leagues) will remain and certain will move away because players will realize it is not that important. Right now they are new and everyone wants to be part of it so you see the rush,” he added.
“Ultimately it will get back to a stage where the country will be as important as the league because only a few will survive because of the ecosystem. Zimbabwe used to be a force to reckon with in world cricket in the 90s but cricket has declined in the country amid administrative issues," said Ganguly.
He further talked about the importance of the cricketing ecosystem and support while giving the example of Zimbabwe, who were once one of the most threatening teams in the 1990s, but have since faded away due to a lack of system and finance.
"It has got to do a lot with administration (teams struggling in international cricket). I keep saying that, I have been president of CAB for five years and then BCCI president for three years and represented India in the ICC, I have seen the entire structure and support system that makes the game possible," he said.
"I remember I played my first world cup in 1999, Zimbabwe could beat anybody. I am sure Zimbabwe cricket did not have a lot of money then, even India did not have that much money. The West Indies, days of Michael Holding, Andy Roberts and Joel Garner, where was the money? There wasn't. Administration is very important to hold on to the players.
If the relationship between players and administrators is good lot of problems can get solved. Cricket has a lot more money now, I don't think money is the issue. There is a need to hold on to the players to play for the country,” Ganguly added.
(PTI inputs)
