Mar 1 (PR): The New Zealand cricketing board did not stop its players from participating in the IPL even though the last matches of the event were clashing with the country's test series-opening matches with England.
Renowned players like Kumara Sangakkara of Sri Lanka oppose the idea of choosing franchise league cricket matches over international cricket. He suggests that ICC and its member nations should strike a balance between the tournaments so that the players can participate in both, without compromising- this would benefit both the games.
As mentioned earlier, the New Zealand cricketing board mentioned that it is not going to stop its players from participating in the upcoming IPL event, even when it is clashing with their test series against England, which is starting from June 2nd.
The Rajasthan Royals director of cricket, Mr. Sangakkara was recently questioned about the clashing match situations for IPL and International cricket, and how it affects the players who often have to make difficult decisions. He mentioned he understands that any other contract is always below the international cricket contract, and also the IPL contract is designed in such a way that players would need a NOC from their home board to participate in the tournament.
He also added that proper balance is needed to be maintained between the games so that the players can participate in these franchise league matches without any worries. He also said that frequent confrontation between players and their respective boards about participating in IPL can lead the players to retire early, which is not a good thing. It will deteriorate the overall quality of international cricket.
Former Caribbean legend and men’s national cricket team selector Desmond Haynes also highlighted the fact that franchise cricket is important for players to raise their standard of living but international cricket gives them the pride of playing for country and winning the tournament for your nation.
“From my experience, everybody wants to play where there's big money. At the end of the day, everybody's wanting to improve their standard of living. But I always say to them, it is good to realise that you've got aspirations to get into the big leagues, but it's also a very important for you to work on becoming a good cricketer. If you do that, the financial side will look after itself,” Desmond Haynes said in an interview on Betway.
“It is important to focus more on your ability, to keep working and also to look at self-development. You should always try to be knowledgeable about the game, try to seek information, try to pick the brains of some of the legends and some of the senior players.”
There is a constant debate about what is considered to be the right balance between both games. Whether there should be an interval in the international matches when the IPL would be held is still a matter of discussion. Proper balancing matters a lot as it will help to decide which international players are available to play international cricket for long.
The positive side of IPL can be witnessed with the fact that this game format helps to enhance the skills of the player. Due to the short format, different players can improve their shorter version skills, which can also be transferred into other formats of the game, including the ODIs and test crickets. Also, the T20 game format in international cricket is slowly gaining a lot of popularity, and as the players practice during the IPL, it would be beneficial for any team during the T20 world cup matches. Balancing is the only way by which both the cricketing board and the players can benefit from the franchise and international cricket.
There are also rumors going round about the use of bouncers in competitive cricket. It has been eliminated from the games due to safety issues but renowned players are talking against this decision. Kumara Sangakkara said that eliminating bouncers, especially at the junior level, would mean that the concerned players would have no idea about short-pitched balls. This is not a good thing indeed.