By IANS
Brisbane : Former India coach John Wright has feared that while India, with its elite Twenty20 competitions, could become a cricket super power, it could spell doom for teams like New Zealand.
“Teams like India and Australia can probably afford to lose a few top players to these Twenty20 competitions without affecting their strength too much,” Wright was quoted as saying in the Courier Mail.
“Take a few players out of the New Zealand side, or some other teams around the world, and they will suffer immensely because there is no depth there,” he said.
Wright has a high-profile job with New Zealand Cricket, which has lost strike bowler Shane Bond to the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) and skipper Stephen Fleming retired to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“From a New Zealand point of view, I just hope some agreement can be reached whereby we do not lose players. We need to be competitive in international cricket and when we lose players to these leagues, it is very difficult.
“It is a big concern,” Wright said.
“The bosses of world cricket should create a window for playing these competitions so there is no conflict over players’ availability. Otherwise we could see a situation where the strong teams get stronger while the weak teams get weaker,” he added.
Wright has also demanded a permanent slot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Future Tours Programme to make sure struggling Test nations are not decimated by players leaving for the Indian Twenty20 competitions.
He has followed the development of the Indian leagues closely and hopes that Test nations, rather than the privately-owned franchises, will get a chance to compete in the future.
“Hopefully, we will get a chance to compete in the IPL as a country,” Wright said.