England should have their own version of IPL: Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen

England batsman Kevin Pietersen has said that the English Cricket Board (ECB) needs to seriously consider the possibility of having its own version of Indian Premier League (IPL), as it could attract more people, better players, and increase global audience, compared to currently existing Natwest T20 Blast, the format of which, with 18 teams in the fray, hasn’t got the welcome it was supposed to.

Pietersen said, “I am dumbfounded that it hasn’t happened before now. You can have two London franchises, a Manchester franchise, a Birmingham franchise. You can get bigger crowds, all of the best players together in the middle of summer and you can get massive global coverage.

The 34-year-old also expressed his reservations about the extended gap between two matches in English T20 competition, which according to him is difficult to adjust to.

The South African-born said: “I have found it quite difficult because playing once a week is hard work. I find tournaments like the CPL, the Big Bash and IPL – which play a lot – much easier because there is much more time in the environment. “

“You spend 24/7 with the players. In England, playing once a week, it’s much harder because playing once a week means you are training once a week. If you are going to attack from ball one you need to have that rhythm to do it. Some days I have felt fantastic, I’ve felt really good. On other days I felt like I couldn’t get going.”

Pietersen now plies his trade by playing T20 cricket in different leagues around the world after being axed from the national team for allegedly being a disruptive force within the team.