BCCI likely to allow Under-23 players to participate in 'The Hundred'

‘The Hundred’ is making waves in the cricketing world. In this new and innovative format of the game, each team will face a total of 100 balls in their innings. And now, news has come in that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) might allow Under-23 players who are not on national duty to participate in the tournament.

The first edition of The Hundred will take place this year. It has also been reported that it is highly unlikely that the BCCI will allow players to participate in the inaugural edition as time is a constraint. Also, with the Covid-19 pandemic causing havoc across the world, it is unlikely that the BCCI will send players this year. And, there is no official confirmation yet from both the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as well as the BCCI regarding this matter.

This is seen as a seminal step in the cricket world as the BCCI had till now not allowed the players to participate in overseas leagues.

BCCI wants to use the month of March for IPL

Also, the BCCI is looking to slot in the month of March for the high profile Indian Premier League (IPL) in the new Future Tours Program (FTP) as well. And, the BCCI is also planning to add two more teams to the IPL and make the league a 10-team affair. And, this in turn will result in more matches being played, and the duration of the IPL might increase a little further once two new teams are added.

Another issue that might arise is the fact that when two new teams are added, the BCCI would want to have more doubleheaders in the tournament as well. And, that would mean that the pressure on the broadcasters will increase further.

In fact, an industry executive stated that a bigger window for the IPL from the future is an important takeaway for the BCCI.

“A bigger window for the IPL in future will be BCCI’s biggest takeaway from this,” said an industry executive as quoted by The Times of India.

The 14th edition of the IPL is currently underway. The tournament started on 9th April 2021 and will conclude on 30th May 2021.