The former West Indies cricketer Clive Lloyd has backed the Indian Premier League amid fresh backlash after India's embarrassing loss to Australia in ICC World Test Championship final. Many former cricketers are questioning IPL's direct influence on India's team selection for red-ball cricket which has sparked a new debate, 'IPL or Country' among the cricket fraternity.
For the last few years, IPL has been the biggest platform for youngsters around the world to earn a national team call-up. But the cash-rich T20 franchise league has come under scrutiny after India's WTC Final loss on June 11. Fans and former cricketers are critical of IPL as many believe that the players are giving priority to money over the country.
But Lloyd, West Indies' World Cup-winning captain, believes that players are giving their best part of years to cricket so they should be earning big bucks. He even suggested that the IPL should get a separate window so that all players can feature in the tournament.
"I think that if IPL is such an important part of their lives, just give them a window so that they can play IPL," Lloyd told Revsportz. "Yes, a window would be excellent, I think, because they are earning a good living. And do not forget, you are giving your best part, the best days of your life to this sport. So why not be paid for it?
“When Michael Jordan and all these footballers were earning millions per month, nobody said anything about it. Why cricket should be different?”
The BCCI recently announced the Indian cricket team for the West Indies tour starting on July 12. The selection committee and management suffered a big backlash on social media from former cricketers and cricket experts, who highlighted that the BCCI is avoiding the talent from domestic tournaments like the Ranji Trophy and is selecting players for the Test team on the basis of IPL performances.
