The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has expressed qualms about the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise owners buying and participating in overseas leagues as the board believed this could dilute the value of the IPL product.
The BCCI secretary Jay Shah and the IPL chairman Arun Singh Dhumal headed a closed-door meeting in Kochi on Friday, on the sidelines of the IPL 2023 auction. In the meeting, as reported by Cricbuzz, it was observed that the BCCI officials discouraged the IPL teams from going overseas.
“That was the point. They tried to discourage them from participating in foreign leagues. They understood those who are already there. But they tried to dissuade us from taking such steps in the future,” an official of a team who was present at the meeting told Cricbuzz.
IPL owners have their teams in 3 T20 leagues already, BCCI may stop them from going further
Currently, 3 IPL franchises – Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Delhi Capitals – are part of the UAE league (ILT20).
All six teams in South Africa’s T20 league (SA20) are subsidiaries of IPL franchises – Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals, and Rajasthan Royals – and the SA20 is already known as the mini-IPL.
In the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), too, two IPL franchises – Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings – have their teams.
“They were suggesting that our presence in foreign leagues could dilute the value of the IPL,” said the official.
IPL chairman Arun Singh Dhumal, though, downplayed this topic and said that the IPL owners are free to expand their businesses.
“Not really. Other boards have all the right to start their leagues. But we have seen that the IPL is way ahead. A few of them (franchise owners) have interests in other leagues. They have to look after their business interests. We can’t stop them. They have money in their kitty, so it is their choice,” Dhumal told Cricbuzz.
The BCCI conducted the IPL 2023 auction successfully and the board would have been pleased to see records break in the auction room, further attracting viewers from corners of the world to watch the IPL 2023.
