IPL shouldn't exist - Ian Botham blames Indian T20 league for cricket's ills in Cowdrey Lecture

During his MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture, Ian Botham said that IPL should be scrapped

Calling the Indian Premier League “too powerful for the long-term good of the game”, legendary England all-rounder Ian Botham said that it shouldn’t exist.

Botham said this while delivering the 2014 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s on Wednesday.

“I'm worried about the IPL – in fact, I feel it shouldn't be there at all as it is changing the priorities of world cricket,” he said. “Players are slaves to it. Administrators bow to it.”

Launched in 2008, IPL has grown into the biggest money spinning league in world cricket. With world’s leading cricketers flocking to India during the April-May period every year, in spite of no international window for the tournament, which has produced many conflicts between players and their respective boards.

Botham questioned the logic of players being lured in with money to participate, without the national boards getting their share.

“How on earth did the IPL own the best players in the world for two months a year and not pay a penny to the boards who brought these players into the game? I know this has been modified to a degree, but it is still an imbalance. The IPL is too powerful for the long-term good of the game,” he said.

Moreover, allegations of rampant corruption have further dented the confidence of many fans and ex-cricketers in the tournament. In 2013, many leading cricketers, including pace bowler S Sreesanth were alleged to have taken part in spot-fixing, and betting links were traced back to many prominent administrators of Indian cricket, including then BCCI president and current ICC chairman N Srinivasan.

“Corruption is enough of a problem in itself, but the IPL compounds that problem given it provides the perfect opportunity for betting and therefore fixing.

“We have seen a few players exposed, but does throwing the odd second XI player into jail solve it?” Botham questioned.

“To kill the serpent, you must cut off its head. The ICC Anti-Corruption Unit must pursue the root of the problem and if necessary expose the big names.”

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