By IANS,
Sydney : As England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) prepares to launch its own version of Indian Premier League (IPL), Cricket Australia (CA), too, can consider adopting a franchise system of the Twenty20 league.
Australians have figured prominently in the opening stages of the $1 billion IPL, but at this stage Australian cricket (as distinct from its players) cannot share the spoils.
CA’s general manager of cricket operations, Michael Brown, said a franchise system would be considered in Australia if it could help attract new fans to the game.
“We will look at it and consider it,” Brown was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald. “The idea is to bring new customers to the game rather than those who already attend Test and one-day matches. We have been watching the new concept with interest — the IPL has been exciting and looks like a fantastic television spectacle.
“I suppose England’s in the same position [as Australia]. They are talking to a man [Stanford] who is looking to invest heavily in the game, so we’ll have to look at how that goes if they set up [their own franchise tournament].
“As long as they don’t damage the fabric of the competition for all countries, I think they are good experiences.”
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Symonds feels accepted by Indian fans
Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds, who was in the center of controversy during the acrimonious India-Australian series, feels he may have finally been accepted by Indian fans.
Symonds representing Hyderabad’s Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League played his first match against Kolkata Knightriders Sunday night at the 90,000-capacity Eden Gardens
“When I came out on the field there was a fair bit of noise but I didn’t hear anything nasty,” Symonds was quoted as saying in The Daily Telegraph. “I went down to the boundary after about five overs in the field and everything was ok. I didn’t have a drama.”
He, however, insists that his star power in India is nothing compared to the Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan who owns Kokata Knightriders.
The Aussie all-rounder, who met the movie star before the Hyderabad-Kolkata clash, said: “India never ceases to amaze me. The players are one small group of stars but that bloke (Khan) is on another level. He is probably the biggest star of all. There is a real cavalcade of stars here outside the actual cricketers.”
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Cricket Australia praises IPL
CA, which is closely watching the first of its kind multi million-dollar IPL has come out in praise for the tournament, according to a report in Herald Sun.
“It’s been outstanding. I think someone described it as being like the Olympic Games,” Michael Brown, senior administrator, CA said when asked what the board thought of the IPL, which started Friday night
“It’s fantastic for cricket. We’re here in Melbourne in an incredible AFL environment, yet people are talking up cricket.
“The little bits I’ve caught from our players, it’s been very successful – a great credit to (the Indian board) and the people involved,” he said.