IPL chairman Arun Dhumal has opened up on the future of India's cash-rich tournament the Indian Premier League. The newly elect IPL chairperson has also reiterated BCCI's stance on Indian players' participation in overseas franchise cricket. The Indian Premier League has become the second most valued sporting league in the world in terms of per-match value and Dhumal thinks the league will go only higher.
Speaking to PTI, Dhumal said, "The IPL will be much bigger than what it is and will be the number one sports league in the world. We are definitely looking at various innovations that can be brought to make it more fan-friendly. For those who are watching it on Tv and those who are experiencing it at the stadium, we want them to have a better experience." He also added that the fans would be more satisfied with the league if the schedule is prepared well in advance. "If we can make the IPL schedule well in advance, people from all around the world can plan their travel accordingly. It should be a value-for-money experience for the fans," Dhumal added.
Notably, Dhumal also reiterated BCCI's stance on not sending Indian players to play in the overseas leagues. "This in principle is the decision of BCCI that our contracted players can't go and play for other leagues. As it is there is so much cricket happening. Keeping in mind their overall well-being that decision has been taken. As of now, we stick to that decision. Even the non-contracted ones are aspiring to play for India," Dhumal said.
He also said that there are no plans to increase the number of teams in IPL from 10 and stated that they are working to make the Women's IPL a world-class tournament.
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"Teams will stay at 10 only. If you increase that, it becomes difficult to have the tournament in one go. We are looking at 74 games, to begin with for the first two seasons, then 84 and if things permit maybe 94 in the fifth year of the media rights cycle, that itself would make it a long enough event," he said.
On Women's IPL Dhumal stated, "The way we are planning for this Women's IPL is that we will have a new set of fans joining the game. There are a lot of female fans who have added to the IPL fan base and this tournament will only add to that and many more would want to take up the sport as a profession. That was the idea behind announcing equal pay ( for women players). We are working on making it one of the best women's cricket tournaments in the world. What we did in the IPL, we want to do something similar with WIPL," Dhumal said.
(Inputs from PTI)
