ICC rules out window for IPL

The ICC will not consider creating an official window for the IPL in its Future Tours Programme, according to the outgoing ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat. The issue of clashing schedules has been apparent since the IPL began in 2008 and refuses to disappear, with this year’s tournament forcing West Indies players to choose between the IPL and their home Test series against Australia.

Next year will be no different as New Zealand’s cricketers, who can earn significantly more as an IPL player than they do via their national contracts, are due to visit England for a Test tour during the second half of the IPL. England’s cricketers regularly have national duties that prevent them from playing a full IPL tournament.

But despite the risk of players choosing the IPL over representing their countries, the ICC remains opposed to the idea of incorporating the two-month tournament into the Future Tours Programme. Lorgat, whose tenure in charge of the ICC finishes at the end of June, said creating a window for the IPL would set a dangerous precedent.

“The consequence of that [an IPL window] is what do we do with the Big Bash League?” Lorgat said. “What do we do with other premier leagues - Sri Lanka is launching one, Bangladesh has one. I know people might say the IPL is the premier league, but once you provide a window for one particular member, you have to be conscious of the fact you may well have to do it for other members. Hence why we have not been supportive of a window specifically for any one of those domestic leagues.”Although an official IPL window is not on the agenda of cricket’s administrators, each country’s board would bear the tournament in mind when scheduling bilateral tours. That is certainly the case for New Zealand, whose board and players’ association have an agreement to avoid scheduling international series that would clash with the IPL.

But such a conflict was inescapable next year, with New Zealand due to visit England for a Test tour in a year that also features an Ashes series in England. As a result, the New Zealand players could miss the warm-up matches ahead of the Test series. James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said national boards were doing what they could to allow their players to take part in the IPL but occasional clashes were unavoidable.

“I think there’s a notional window already for the IPL,” Sutherland said. “I think it exists. There’s an inevitability around some overlap and countries are working around that to the best of their ability. There are challenges ultimately, it’s been raised with clashes from time to time. But I think there’s a notional window that most countries are working with and around, in order to allow their players the opportunity to play in IPL. (www.cricinfo.com)