ICC to bring a set of regulations for mushrooming T20 leagues, calls IPL a benchmark

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is struggling to keep an eye on the mushrooming T20 leagues all over the world. the popularity of the prestigious Indian Premier League (IPL) set a precedent with almost every cricket playing nation starting a national T20 league of their own.

The ICC is now planning to regulate the various T20 leagues while calling a handful of professional leagues like the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the golden standard for the operations of the T20 competition all over the globe. However, smaller leagues that are not financially capable of holding themselves, may fall prey to corruption, insecurities and also deal with non-payment of dues to the players.

ICC also observed that the various T20 leagues being played all over the world is causing overcrowding of the international calendar as well. ICC Chief Executive David Richardson issued the following statement on the possibility of regulating national T20 leagues, which are not promoting the game.

A set of draft regulations have been developed over the past few months

He said, “The ICC, at the request of its Members, set up a Working Group in June 2018 to consider the sanctioning of events and player release. The primary purpose of the group was to address Members’ concerns regarding the proliferation of domestic T20 and other short-form leagues around the world. These have created challenges and conflicts with the international playing calendar and often rely on a disproportionate number of international players from foreign countries.”

He further mentioned that leagues which haven’t sustained financial backing and are structured poorly are not feasible for the long term and do not contribute in promotion of the game of cricket. Such leagues are also a hotbed for corruption, fixing and inability to pay the dues of the players, which also bring a bad name to the sport of cricket on a global level.

“A set of draft regulations have been developed over the past few months, which are designed to introduce minimum standards for short-form domestic leagues to safeguard cricket’s reputation and protect the long-term health of the Members,” he said.

Richardson further stated, “They also recognize and encourage the important role that these leagues, when staged by or in partnership with Members, can play in the promotion of the sport, in raising operational standards, protecting the health, safety and welfare of its participants and enabling professional cricketers to reap the rewards of their talents by mandating minimum contractual protections for players.”

However, David Richardson called leagues primarily exemplifying the Indian Premier League as the gold standard for operations all over the world. He mentioned that the working group has taken inspiration from such leagues to develop the new regulations. “Our primary objective is to ensure other leagues around the world put in place the same minimum criteria and operate within a consistent framework,” he said.

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