IPL: 3 ways to further improve the tournament

Indian Premier League, the world cricket's biggest rolling juggernaut is all set and ready for the 11th edition. Started as a domestic event way back in 2008, IPL has evolved into a global event now. In 2008, none would have predicted the level of success the IPL has achieved all through these years.

Players all over the world are expressing their desire to be a part of this cash-rich league. IPL is used as a shortcut by many players (both Indians & overseas) to grab the eyeballs of both the selection committees and the fans all over the world. Every cricketing nation is trying to build a league of its own like IPL.

Each and every year, IPL is getting bigger and better. Star India had recently acquired the IPL media rights for the next 5 seasons for a whopping $2.55 billion. Despite the off-field controversies in the past few years, one has to admit that IPL is here to stay.

Though IPL has gained a huge amount of success & attraction, it still has few issues. There always lies a room for improvement. Now, let's look at 3 such issues which once resolved will help IPL to improve further and achieve more success in the upcoming years.

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#1 Schedule management

Sourav Ganguly is currently a member of the IPL technical committee

If there is one major issue which the IPL committee must look into, then it should definitely be the fixtures. A team is supposed to play a maximum of 17 matches (in case of qualifying for the finals through eliminator) and a minimum of 14 matches within a short span of 6-7 weeks. This includes lots of travel when someday a team will play in the south part of India and the day after they play somewhere in the north part of India.

Considering the temperature in India during the months of April-May, it’s really tough for the players. This often results in fatigue and players getting burnt out by the mid-phase of the season which leads to unavoidable injury. To prevent this injury scare, few international teams like Australia does not allow their star players to participate in IPL if there is a big tournament or series coming up after the IPL. Even the fans get overdosed by the huge number of T20 matches played within a short span of 6-7 weeks.

In 2011, teams were equally divided into two groups and a different format was structured since there were 10 teams during that edition. If the format of 2011 is followed, then a team will play a minimum of 11 matches which is 3 less than the current format. This new format can eventually reduce the overdose of matches.

Even this year's IPL schedule leads to unavailability of some captains for the opening ceremony. Before confirming the schedule, one must look into the various factors like logistics issues, travel distance between cities, an adequate number of rest days for a team between fixtures. This can help the teams to manage their players properly in terms of workload.

So, reducing the number of matches and proper handling of schedule will benefit the IPL in long run.

#2 Inclusion of Pakistan players

A huge bidding war can be expected if Mohammed Amir's name pops up in the auction room

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) & Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are at loggerheads for quite a few years because of the political tensions between two countries. Except for the inaugural season, Pakistan players were barred from IPL since then. Azhar Mahmood was the only exception since he holds a British passport. There are no doubts about the quality of Pakistan players.

Everyone can remember the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy Final in which Amir single-handedly destroyed India's batting order. Also one could not forget the 2016 Asia Cup T20 match between India and Pakistan when Amir almost won the match for Pakistan single-handedly.

Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Shadab Khan and many more talented players are waiting in the wings. The inclusion of Pakistan players will further increase the fan base and the tournament will get tougher than ever because of the intensity which the Pakistan players will usually bring in while playing.

With the 2018 Asia cup to be played in India, Pakistan's participation in the Asia cup will rest in the hands of the Indian government. If the government permits Pakistan, then it will be a huge stepping stone for the participation of Pakistan players in IPL.

#3 Reduction of overseas slots in the playing XI

Overseas players are always the biggest crowd pullers in IPL

As per the current rules, an IPL team is allowed to field a maximum of 4 overseas players in their starting XI. The remaining 7 slots will be filled by the Indian players. Assume that a team fields 2-3 star Indian players and 2-3 fringe Indian players (who are currently not considered for selection). This leaves a maximum of only 1-2 slots available for the new local Indian players.

IPL is viewed as a platform for young Indian players to showcase their talents. In reality, this statement takes a heavy beating. Very few teams (for example, Rahul Dravid's Rajasthan Royals & Delhi Daredevils in the previous editions) are giving real importance to local Indian players and providing them enough opportunities to prevail in this tough environment.

In case of ‘Big Bash League’ (Australia's premier domestic T20 tournament), only 2 overseas players are allowed in the playing XI. This allows teams to field unknown Australian players. Since the foreign players bring in more flavor and attractions, IPL committee may permit the teams to field a maximum of 2-3 players in the upcoming seasons. This might result in youngsters getting more chances instead of warming up the benches & carrying drinks in an entire season.