Like the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Australian Big Bash League (BBL) is one of the most famous T20 leagues in the world. However, tournament popularity does not match IPL popularity.
As a result, Cricket Australia (CA) recently confirmed that it will reduce the number of BBL matches. It is estimated to go from 61 to 43 in future seasons. BBL have been playing on a home-and-away schedule since 2018/19. Each team plays 14 games in a tournament that lasts for nearly two months.
However, declining audience interest and sluggish television ratings, as well as the reluctance of foreign players to compete outright, are believed to be some of the reasons behind the decline in the number of matches. Unlike the BBL, the IPL has expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams for the 2022 season. The number of games has automatically increased from 60 to 74. It increased as Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) were added to the existing eight franchises.
Organizers are reportedly planning to expand the lucrative T20 league even further in upcoming seasons. Unlike the BBL, popularity in the IPL doesn’t matter at all. We have listed down three big reasons for IPL to follow the BBL route.
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1 Too many games lead to viewer fatigue
Viewership figures for IPL 2022 have been impressive. While this speaks to the season’s success, one of the main reasons for fan interest last season was the addition of GT and LSG.
Viewers were very curious to see how the two new franchises would unfold. Luckily for the T20 League, both teams had very impressive performances in their debut season. Like Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat won the title in their very first IPL.
In the past, there have been instances of divided fan interest. Indian cricket teams play almost all year round. All the big stars of the team can also be seen at IPL. Viewer fatigue is inevitable and tournament organizers need to prevent it.
2 Quality of IPL should not be compromised
The concept of more fun doesn’t apply to all situations. In an interview with PTI last year, current IPL president, Arun Dhumal, announced that in five years he plans to increase the number of games per season to 94. He commented: “We will only have 10 teams. Allowing for 94 games in the media rights cycle, that alone would be a long enough event.”
The IPL can officially become the second most profitable sports league in the world. However, you shouldn’t compete with football leagues where games end in 90 minutes. T20 games last longer, and increasing the number of games can lead to less interest for fans as well as players.
This might sound a little strange given the hefty salary packages players receive. However, commercializing them and expecting them to function like robots is unlikely to yield the desired results. When a cricketer has to play an inexplicable number of games, there will inevitably come a time when he feels lost and indifferent.
3 Will help in player workload management
Following a recent BCCI review meeting, an official statement was released. It announced that the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and the IPL franchise will work together to ease the burden on 20 Indian players. The same 20 players will be also playing in ODI World Cup that is to be held later in the year.
The decision comes after the injuries of a number of key Indian players in 2022. Leading pacesetter Jasprit Bumra played only a few games last year after suffering a back injury.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja missed his T20 World Cup in Australia after picking up a freak knee injury at the Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Mohammed Shami and Deepak Chahar were also always frequently moved in and out. The fact that BCCI has enlisted the NCA and IPL franchises to work together to monitor a number of major Indian players clearly shows that they are aware of the increased workload for their players.
The Cricket Board is therefore well suited to relieve some of the pressure on the players in cricket by reducing rather than increasing the number of games played.
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