Since late January, there has definitely been an overdose of T20 cricket. First, India took on Australia in a 3 match series, which was followed by a 3 match series at home against Sri Lanka. Soon the Asia Cup commenced only to be followed by the ICC World T20. Thus, it was believed that the IPL would get off to a slow start in terms of ratings. With almost a month into the league, the tournament has started to pick up the rating points. IPL Governing Council member Rajiv Shukla seconded that in his latest interview. Below, are the excerpts from his interview.
Do you think that the fans are tired of watching too much of T20 cricket this year? And do you agree that the domestic itinerary should be planned better?
It’s true that some of the World T20 venues had an overdose of matches and that is why we did not get full houses in the initial one or two weeks. There was some fatigue but the third and fourth weeks have been better – the IPL fever is rising. The fans are coming in large numbers to watch the game.
There’s a talk to shift IPL in the future outside India. How practical is this step?
We had to shift the event outside India twice in the past due to the Lok Sabha elections – to South Africa and Abu Dhabi. Technically, IPL should be played in India only. But due to so many PILs in the court, managing the event isn’t easy these days.
What are the plans for the players’ retention policy?
2017 is supposed to be the mega IPL auction, where all the big players will be up for the grabs. That is the logical conclusion. The two suspended teams from Chennai and Rajasthan are also expected to be back in the thick of things. In order to maintain a balance, an open auction is the best way forward. If some teams are interested in retaining a few of their stars, it would be discussed in the GC meet. We are aware that Chennai and Rajasthan would be interested in bringing back their old players. Therefore, the GC members are open to discussing this issue at length.