Officially or unofficially, Twenty20 is now huge
Writing in The Times , Shane Warne flags that Twenty20 will hit India, the game’s largest market, in a big way over the months ahead
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
Brand-Rapport
Writing in The Times, Shane Warne flags that Twenty20 will hit India, the game’s largest market, in a big way over the months ahead. The ICL starts today, although Warne has joined the official IPL – “there are lots of capital letters in those sentences” he admits - but Pandora’s Box has been opened, and Warne does not approve of the possible action against those playing in the ICL.
Both leagues give wonderful opportunities to professional cricketers and I think it is right that players should have the freedom to play in whichever of them they wish to. Although the ICL is yet to be given official blessing, I hope that players are not penalised or banned from other competitions.
Cricketers have to earn a living and the bills do not stop coming through the letterbox at the end of a season. It is wrong that honest men … with good reputations may be punished for simply accepting very good offers to ply their trade. The ICL has been described as a breakaway and a rebel league, yet comparisons to World Series Cricket in the late-Seventies do not stand up.
It will be interesting to see how the ICL works, whether the crowds give their support and how the facilities stand up. But, however popular it proves, I cannot imagine a big split in the game.
Martin Williamson is executive editor of ESPNcricinfo and managing editor of ESPN Digital Media in Europe, the Middle East and Africa