'Cricketers will follow the money and the least profitable aspects of the game will suffer' - Michael Atherton on expansion of IPL

The Indian Premier League is all set to welcome two new franchises from the next edition of the tournament. Thus, the marquee league will now host more matches which will eventually increase the time span and participation of players in the tournament.  The former England captain Michael Atherton has raised concerns about the same.

The IPL is already placed under major scrutiny for team India’s performances in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021. However, according to Atherton, the expansion of the league will affect the future of Test cricket. He also explained the financial aspects of it and stated that the cricketers will follow the money if the market is left unchecked and that will affect the aspects of the game.

“There will be adverse knock-on effects. The calendar cannot contain the competing demands of international and franchise cricket as it is now, with a two-month window allotted for the IPL. India will want a longer window and, who knows, maybe the owners will eventually want a second station carved out of the schedule.

Cricketers will follow the money. If the market is left unchecked, and the least profitable aspects of the game will suffer — notably Test cricket among countries with small television markets. Relations between the players and their principal employers will fray. Some, like New Zealand, have simply accepted reality and allow their players’ absolute freedom to pick and choose,” Atherton wrote in his column for The Times.

England are missing two centrally contracted players in this World Cup who were injured in the IPL:  Michael Atherton

Atherton also put forward his thoughts on the scheduling worries that come with the expansion of IPL. Previously a few England players had linked the cancellation of the fifth test between India and England to the UAE leg of the IPL. The former England cricketer shed light on the fact that two key England players missed out on the T20 World Cup after facing injury issues whilst the IPL.

“England are missing two centrally contracted players in this World Cup who were injured in the IPL — an extraordinary state of affairs when you think about it. An imbalance of revenues and the intense gravitational pull of IPL puts stress on a game ill-equipped to withstand it. The advance of the IPL, and its satellite tournaments, will be hard to stop. But the sport that exists only to create a return for investors will lose the precious elements that hinder rather than help the bottom line,” Atherton further wrote.