“Personally, I don’t like it” - Aakash Chopra on whether 5 teams should qualify for IPL playoffs instead of 4

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has stated that the Indian Premier League (IPL) should stick to the current playoffs format, which sees the top four teams qualify. According to Chopra, increasing the number of qualifying teams to five will dilute the quality of the T20 league.

The IPL organizers recently announced a new format for IPL 2022 in which the 10 teams have been divided into two virtual groups of five each. The playoffs format, however, has not been altered. There will be two Qualifiers and an Eliminator.

During a Q&A session on his YouTube channel, Chopra was asked if having five teams in the IPL playoffs would be a good idea, considering the number of franchises has increased to 10.

Disagreeing with the suggestion, the former cricketer explained:

"Personally, I don’t like it. There has to be a lot of value. Otherwise, it would be a case of 50 percent teams qualifying. I like the playoffs format. Wherever the round-robin format is used, playoffs should be there. You get more opportunities and rewards if you have done well in a season. Even in the PSL, out of six teams, four qualify for playoffs. It becomes a little pointless. Let there be more quality. Only the top four teams should progress. 50-50 is not my way of thinking.”

A total of 70 league matches will be played across four venues in Mumbai and Pune during IPL 2022. The venue for the playoff matches will be decided later.

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“It’s a global tournament” - Aakash Chopra explains why IPL and domestic cricket cannot be on par

The ongoing Ranji Trophy this season has been split into two halves to accommodate the IPL, which will begin in the last week of March.

Asked why the T20 league gets preference over domestic tournaments, Chopra explained:

“It’s (IPL) not overpowering it (Ranji), but it’s going to happen. Because not only does it come on TV, but it’s a global tournament. And just look at the value. Players from all over the world come here. The auction has more ratings than a lot of matches. But are we ignoring domestic cricket? If the Ranji Trophy wasn’t happening this year, I’d have agreed, but it is happening. As long as domestic tournaments are being held and given their due importance, it’s fine. But they’ll never have parity with IPL.”

The 2022 edition of the IPL will begin on March 26, with the final scheduled to be held on May 29.