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NEW
DELHI: In an announcement which was said to have been in the
planning for some years but has clearly been spurred by the
Subhash Chandra-promoted Indian Cricket League, the Indian
cricket board today announced the formation of a two tier
Twenty20 competition that will feature teams and players from
across the world.
The
Indian Premier League (IPL), structured as a franchisee-based
Twenty20 Series, is scheduled to kick off in April 2008. The
final leg of the competition, which will will be run by the
four cricket boards of India, England, Australia and South
Africa, is called ‘Champions Twenty20 League’ and
will be held in October 2008.
The
Champions Twenty20 League will feature the top two teams from
each of those countries. Total prize money for the IPL will
be $3 million, while the inaugural Champions Twenty20 League
will have $5 million in prize money, including $2 million
for the winners.
The
announcement was made by Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) vice-president Lalit Modi at a crowded press meet attended
by International Cricket Council (ICC) President Ray Mali,
BCCI President Sharad Pawar, and a large number of cricket
board officials from India, Australia, England, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. Also in
attendance were from former and present cricket players like
Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid,
Anil Kumble, and Sourav Ganguly.
Prior
to the announcement, the BCCI Working Committee held its meeting
to finalise details of the IPL. Members of the Governing Council
include Punjab Cricket Association President Inderjit Singh
Bindra, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Arun Jaitley, Rajeev Shukla,
Sunil Gavaskar, and Ravi Shastri.
Others
who attended the press meet included Glenn McGrath, Stephen
Fleming, Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola, and Cricket
Australia's chief executive James Sutherland, England Cricket
Board’s deputy chief executive Hugh Morris. It was announced
that Shane Warne had also lent his support.
Pawar
and Modi announced that the IPL will adopt a method to invite
franchisees who will sponsor the teams, and the franchisee
will not only pay a fee but also share the revenues earned
from the matches. The franchisee will also be responsible
for developing stadia and infrastructure.
The
IPL is scheduled to start in April 2008 and will last for
44 days involving 59 matches. Each team will have a minimum
of 16 players, including four international players and four
players from the area where the team is based.
The
matches will be played on a home-and-away basis, guaranteeing
seven matches at each venue. The matches will be played at
1700 hrs and 2000 hrs, and the semi-finals and finals will
be played on Saturdays, starting at 1100 hrs, 1400 hrs, and
2000 hrs. All matches will be televised and the rights to
telecast these matches will be sold through a separate tender.
No matches will be played concurrently. Mr Modi said the timings
were ideal for television audiences.
Mali
said it was clear that the One-dayers or the Twenty 20 would
not harm Test Cricket but would revitalize the game. Cricket
was the people’s game and should be encouraged by every
means possible.
Sutherland
said the new league would boost interstate cricket. Apart
from giving the two state KFC Twenty20 finalists the chance
to compete for the overall prize, it would expose interstate
cricket stars to international competition and give fans of
local state-based teams the excitement of supporting their
favourite players on a global stage.
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