18 November,2009 08:09 AM IST | | Sanjjeev K Samyal
As the brains behind the Indian Premier League deliberate on the expansion of teams from eight to 10, many are left wondering if it's a good idea. Burn-outs and breakdowns due to excessive cricket are the main concerns in world cricket. Expanding any tournament will only increase the casualty list. Just yesterday, Australia's premier fast bowler decided to take a break to cure his elbow injury.
In a scenario where the International Cricket Council is struggling to fix a window for the IPL in their Future Tours Programme, expanding the event is incomprehensible. It will be a warped decision to expand an inter-club tournament to more than five weeks.
Increasing teams will bring in more moolah, but save a thought for the players. One of the reasons for India's dismal show at the World Twenty20 was fatigue as players could not get rest before the event. After the World T20 disaster, India's top players told friends that the continuous travel during the IPL in South Africa turned them into zombies. It was no surprise that Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan's fitness worries were first reported during the IPL.
IPL bosses also need to recall how the 2007 World Cup in West Indies turned into a farce due to its longevity.
The game's rulers learnt a bitter lesson and decided to cut down the Champions Trophy in SA to two weeks.
The quality of IPL competition will suffer too as players won't be able to give up their national commitments to play here. Do those who run the IPL know what they are doing to the health of the game? Probably not.
In this case, it sure looks like wealth is health!
