IPL 2021: "If China starts playing cricket they can give competition to the Indian market" - Salman Butt

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has opined that no cricket league in the world can compete with the Indian Premier League (IPL) given the vast sums of money that is invested in the competition.

Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Butt said that even if all the cricket boards were to come together to start a franchise league, they still wouldn't be able to compete with the IPL.

"One cannot compare IPL with any other league or even all the world leagues combined together cannot give competition to IPL in terms of money. Because other country's markets are small or different sports take first priority there," the 36-year-old said.

The lucrative T20 League, which kicked off in 2008, has gone from strength to strength over the course of the last 13 years to establish itself as one of the must-see affairs in the sporting arena.

"India has a big market where everyone wants to invest first in cricket" - Salman Butt

The IPL will expand to 10 teams from next season with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) set to announce two new franchises at the end of this month.

The BCCI has set a base price of INR 2000 crore for both franchises but the valuation could well turn out to be over INR 3000 crore.

Butt was not surprised by this as he believes India has the biggest market for the game. The former cricketer, however, added that if China started playing cricket, India could have tough competition on its hands.

He said:

"India has a big market where everyone wants to invest first in cricket than any other sports, so it's no surprise if the base price for an IPL team is more than 2000+ crores. But if China starts playing cricket, then they can give competition to India."

The ongoing IPL season may not have churned out enough excitement on the field but it still continues to rake in eyeballs.

Recently, BCCI secretary Jay Shah revealed on Twitter that IPL 2021's viewership was 12 million more than last year.

The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League is approaching its business end. The final will take place at the Dubai International Stadium on October 15.