Australia considers IPL-style tournament

India have agreed to clear their biggest superstars to play in Australia's domestic Twenty20 competition as Cricket Australia considers an IPL-like franchise system for the tournament. The revamped event would likely start in 2009-10 as Cricket Australia aims to make the most of Twenty20's growing popularity.

Australia's six-state Twenty20 competition is going ahead this season but from the following year the tournament could look completely different as Australia investigate options for how to structure the series. The state teams could remain but another possibility is to adapt the hugely successful IPL model, in which teams were owned privately and signed international players.

"The franchise model is one that is being looked at very, very closely," Cricket Australia's public affairs manager Peter Young told Cricinfo. "We are narrowing the options, but the way it will look is still to be determined."

Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman and BCCI vice-president, said India would have no problem allowing its players to take part. "They [Cricket Australia] have asked us already if we would release our players for that and we said yes," Modi said in the Herald Sun. "They have been gracious enough to release their players for us."

Young confirmed Cricket Australia had discussed the possibility of international stars competing in Australia's Twenty20 tournament, an idea that he said had "consumer appeal". "But it's still important the core focus is on state-level players," Young said.

While the 2009-10 start date has not been set in stone, Australia are confident the existing KFC Twenty20 structure will look very different within two years. Cricket Australia's project group developing the idea is being headed by the CEO James Sutherland and the board hopes to have decided on a model within the next few months.

"Getting the domestic Twenty20 right is going to be one of the single most important focuses for Cricket Australia," Young said. "It's possibly the single biggest issue for Australian cricket management to formalise and finalise in the next 12 months."

In the meantime, the six states will compete in this summer's more familiar version of the KFC Twenty20, with extra incentive as the two top teams will qualify for next year's Champions League. Victoria and Western Australia made the cut this year and will face domestic teams from England, India, South Africa and Pakistan at the inaugural Champions League, which will be held in India this December.