Nearing two decades of existence, brand IPL has become stronger than ever and doesn’t see any threat from the growing number of T20 leagues globally, its chairman Arun Dhumal said on Saturday as he steered clear of the speculation swirling around an event backed by Saudi Arabia.
Speaking to media as the league enters its 18th edition, Dhumal said the BCCI supports the rise in number of T20 leagues globally, especially in unchartered territories like Saudi Arabia, Europe and the USA. He feels the growth will eventually help the game ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics where cricket will be played. “There is no point discussing something on the basis of speculation. There is nothing on the table for discussion with everyone (all stakeholders). And as far as my knowledge goes, there is no infrastructure as of now in Saudi Arabia that can cater to a tournament of this scale.
“So, there is no point discussing speculative stories,” said the IPL chairman.
Plenty has been reported in international media about the oil-rich Saudi Arabia foraying into cricket over the last two years but nothing concrete has come out of those speculations. Having said that, Saudi Arabia has been a sponsor in the IPL and hosted the mega auction last year.
Now there is fresh chatter around a tennis Grand Slam styled league funded by the Arab giant but concrete details are yet
to emerge.
No threat from other leagues
The IPL is estimated to be at valued at over $12 Billion and in terms of per match, it is the second most valued sporting league in the world, only behind behind the NFL in the United States. In that context, no other cricket league poses a threat to the IPL. In fact, IPL owners have been expanding their footprint with investments in leagues organised by foreign boards including CPL, SA20, MLC, ILT20 and most recently The Hundred in the UK.
“The idea of getting cricket into the Olympics is that the game grows through the length and breadth of the globe. It is good that more leagues are taking shape and we don’t see anybody as a threat,” said Dhumal. “We would want to make sure that more and more games happen across the different territories, the newer territories. Whether it is Saudi, America, Europe, it doesn’t matter. Nobody can stop anybody and we would not want to stop anyone.
“We would only focus on strengthening our tournament and our property.”
Ban for last-minute pull outs justified
In the run-up to this year’s IPL, England star Harry Brook was handed a two-year ban for pulling out of his contract with Delhi Capitals, causing quite a flutter.
Dhumal defended the sanction which led to quite a debate.
“Teams pick players auction with a particular strategy in mind. In case a player withdraws from the tournament without a genuine reason, it changes the whole gameplan of the impacted and also affects the tournament,” said Dhumal, clarifying that the two-year suspension will include the season that a player has withdrawn from. On the varied opinions around the Impact Player Rule, Dhumal added: “The response we got from fans and broadcasters was very positive. It has elevated the standard of the game. Keeping that in mind, we have extended it till 2027.
“As far as the debate around development of Indian all-rounders are concerned, IPL has raised benchmark for quality bowlers and batters and this would ensure a raise in benchmark for quality all-rounders as well.”
Lifting of saliva ban will give leeway to bowlers
Revoking a five-year-old ban on saliva and introducing new technologies this season are in line with IPL’s vision to improve every season, said Dhumal. “...We took a feedback from all the captains. And they were wanting this to be lifted, given that it gives some leeway to bowlers in what is predominantly a batters’ game,” he said.
