IPL chairman unfazed by growing number of T20 leagues
Despite the growth and popularity of other franchise-based tournaments around the world, Indian Premier League chairman, Arun Singh Dhumal, believes that IPL is far ahead of other competitive leagues and that none of them can be a threat to the cash-rich league anytime soon. Notably, many IPL franchises are currently spreading their wings to various other leagues in the world as Kolkata Knight Riders own a team in West Indies, UAE and the USA, while Mumbai Indians have teams in South Africa, UAE, and the USA, respectively. The same can be said for Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals among a few others.
Dhumal meanwhile sent wishes to all the other cricketing boards across the globe for establishing their leagues. Albeit, he once again emphasised that no one apparently is close to the success that IPL has achieved so far. Notably, the 2023 edition of the IPL broke the world record for the highest digital viewership.
“We don’t see anyone else as our competition, there is none even close to IPL. Our best wishes to all the boards starting their own T20 leagues, but I don’t think any of them can be a threat to IPL,” Dhumal was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
Arun Singh Dhumal talks about increasing player salary cap before IPL 2024
The 46-year-old stated that before increasing the salary cap in IPL 2024, the governing body will have to sit down with all the franchises and talk to them in order to understand their views. He also clarified that since the 17th edition of IPL is still 10 months away, they have a lot of time to discuss these things.
“We will have to consult the franchises and team owners before taking a call. While we still have 10 months before the next IPL, a lot of discussions will have to take place before anything like that happens,” Dhumal mentioned.
The senior member of the governing body also cleared that BCCI never explored the idea of conducting IPL on foreign soils or helping any cricketing body set up its own league.
“It’s the ICC’s job to grow the game outside the traditional pockets. BCCI has helped nations in the past but as far as a T20 league in Saudi Arabia is considered, it’s all speculation,” Dhumal concluded.
