Board of Control for Cricket in India might allow India U-23 players to feature in the upcoming tournament called ‘The Hundred.’ Thus far, BCCI has not allowed Indian players to feature in T20 leagues outside India.
Concept of ‘The Hundred’ has been discussed and debated more than any other cricket league in the world. In this new format of the game, each team will face a total of 100 balls in their innings. Reports suggest that BCCI has allowed India U-23 players to feature in the new league which is set to take place in England later this year.
Although, It has also been reported that it is unlikely that the BCCI will allow players to participate in the first edition of the league due to the busy international schedule of Indian players and pandemic. There is no official confirmation yet from both the England and Wales Cricket Board and BCCI.
The BCCI is looking for a slot in the month of March for organizing the biggest T20 league in the world, the Indian Premier League. Also, the BCCI is planning to add two more teams to the tournament and make the league a grand 10-team tournament. This will result in more matches being played, and the duration of the competition will evidently increase due to the involvement of more teams.
Another issue that might arise is the fact that when two new teams will be added, the BCCI would have to opt for more double-headers which we see once or maximum twice a week in the tournament. This eventually will increase the pressure on the broadcasters as well.
Moreover, an industry executive stated that a bigger window for the marquee Indian Premier League from the future is an important takeaway for the BCCI.
“A bigger window for the IPL in future will be BCCI’s biggest takeaway from this,”
said an industry executive as quoted by The Times of India.
The 14th edition of the IPL is currently being played with no in-person attendance. The tournament started on 9th April 2021 and will end on 30th May 2021.