The 2020 IPL is finished and the talk has moved on to the 2021 edition, which is expected to start in less than five months. While hosting the tournament on Indian soil is a topic of interest, another major point of discussion is the possibility of a new franchise joining the eight-team league. Former India captain Rahul Dravid, now director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and Rajasthan Royals co-owner Manoj Badale, feel that an expansion of the IPL would serve the tournament well.
“For my position, seeing many Indian talents emerge, I think we are ready (for the expansion of the IPL). I don’t know about finances, but from a talent perspective, we are ready. There are so many Indian talents that they are not having a chance. They are very good talents not to play in the XI ”, said Dravid.
“Being involved in the past with the India U19 team as a coach, it’s a pleasure to see so many U19 guys establishing themselves,” he added. “There are some incredible talents waiting for an opportunity.”
Dravid spoke on the sidelines of the launch of “A New Innings,” a book on IPL and its business model, written by Badale and Simon Hughes.
The IPL has experimented with expansion before, but with limited success. In the 13 editions so far, there have been two seasons (2012, 13) that saw nine teams and one season (2011) that had ten.
“It is a hot topic right now. It was planned to expand the IPL from eight to at least ten teams. It is not a new topic. We had 10 franchises in the past, ”Badale said. “The incorporation of franchises to IPL is inevitable. There may be questions about the timing, questions about the pressure we are under due to the coronavirus.
“That is a decision that BCCI must make. It is definitely possible. But as a consequence, you will have to have more matches in the afternoon and maintain the quality of the competition ”.
Less dependence on state associations
Dravid cited the example of T Natarajan and Rahul Tewatia as players who shine in the IPL and make themselves known nationally despite not having regular opportunities with their state teams.
“In the past, the only opportunity players had was with their state associations. Now a player from Karnataka can play for Mumbai in the IPL. It is no longer limited to state associations. A good example will be Haryana, who has many good spinners like Yuzvendra Chahal, Amit Mishra, Jayant Yadav. A player like Rahul Tewatia may not even have as many chances on the T20 state teams. In the past, it would have limited it, but now that doesn’t stop it from getting attention. You have eight extra pairs of eyes from the IPL teams that are there to see your talent, ”Dravid said. “One of the reasons behind the success of the Mumbai Indians is that they have maintained a core of experienced players, who are world-class T20 players. But the bottom line is that they have balanced it with young and exciting Indian talents. It is due to the fact that there is a good exploration structure. ”
The other important aspect is that all gamers now have access to high-end data. “When the IPL started there was no specialized data like these days. Today, a young player can have data such as his hit rate in power games and how it drops by 20 percent when roulette is activated. They can work in specific areas depending on that reading. Someone like T Natarajan, must have noticed how the yorker is such an effective delivery in T20 and must have practiced that way. Now he’s entered the Indian team because of that, ”said Dravid, who saw the rise of youngsters like Sanju Samson during his tenure as RR captain.
“As coaches, we can help young players on their journeys, but what helps them grow is experience. Look at Devdutt Padikkal who is hitting alongside Virat Kohli or you can learn from AB de Villiers. “
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