The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Ponting blames ICC for IPL revolution

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Ponting blames ICC for IPL revolution

Melbourne: Concerned over the long-term effects of Indian Premier League’s (IPL) money power, Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has blamed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for not acting in time to develop the Twenty20 format to its potential and trying to put a lid on it.

Ponting said luring private Twenty20 revolution in India was threatening to spoil the composition of National sides.

“The amount of money being bandied around here and the amount of money and power the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has, who knows how cricket administration worldwide is going to pan out,” Ponting said.

“Twenty20 cricket has been big at domestic-level for most of this decade in England, then South Africa and now Australia.

“It was obvious by the crowds at that level that it was going to be big. If the ICC had jumped on it then and developed Twenty20 cricket to its potential instead of trying to keep a lid on it then there might not have been any need for an IPL to counter the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL),” he wrote in his column for The Australian.

Ponting also warned various cricket Boards to be careful about the implications of the private leagues — IPL and ICL. “If the ICC is saying it can’t find a window for the IPL, then those running the game will have to be careful how they handle this Twenty20 phenomenon,” Ponting said.

Big role

Giving example of Andrew Symonds, who has to decide whether to tour Pakistan or play in the IPL, Ponting said money could play a big role in influencing the decision. “If he doesn’t want to go to Pakistan and the tour is on and Cricket Australia says you can’t play in the IPL, there will be some serious decisions that will have to be made and there will have to be some serious thinking that will have to go into those decisions.

“Making more money and spending most of the year with the family by playing in the IPL instead of for the respective country could start to look pretty attractive to some blokes and lot of cricketers around the world will look at it that way.

“And if there are potential stars of Test or one-day cricket who might have any sort of thoughts like that, I think it is really dangerous for the game. More than 20 Pakistan players have signed with the ICL and IPL. All those guys who signed with the ICLcan no longer represent their country,” he added. — PTI

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