25 May,2009 08:19 AM IST | | Sanjjeev K Samyal
There is no stopping the Indian Premier League and the world has also accepted the fact now. After resisting for some time and trying their best to ignore it, the Australian, English and South African boards have accepted that IPL deserves a window in the Future Tours Programme, MiD DAY has reliably learnt.
The heads of three boards Cricket Australia, ECB (England & Wales Cricket Board) and Cricket South Africa had a long meeting with BCCI secretary N Srinivasan to discuss the FTP from 2012 to 2020 on the eve of the final here.
ICC sanction
Indian cricket board sources informed that the three boards have principally agreed to provide a window for the IPL. The FTP will be put before the International Cricket Council to be ratified, but Board sources said it is a mere formality once these big players have agreed.
The issue of IPL window had become a major headache for the international cricket bodies, as their players did not want to miss the lucrative Twenty20 tournament.
It had led to a country versus money debate. These boards seem to have realised that they could not offend their players for long and the success of the IPL in South Africa seems to have convinced them that the T20 event is here to stay.
Shot in the arm
CA, ECB and CSA are theu00a0 powerhouses in international cricket. Their green signal to the tournament will be a shot in the arm for the IPL.
While Aussie and South African players are the most in demand among the franchises, England's Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff are the most expensive players in the league. Imagine having all the players available for the full course of IPL.
IPL chairman Lalit Modi announced yesterday that the ICC has sanctioned a window (October 8 to 23) for the 12-team Champions League between the champion franchises of India (3 teams), South Africa, Australia, England (2 each), West Indies (1), Sri Lanka (1) and New Zealand (1 each).
