IPL 2020 | IPL is ready for expansion in terms of talent, proclaims Rahul Dravid
Dravid bats for an IPL expansion
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Rahul Dravid is of the opinion that India right now houses a lot of extraordinary talents who can contribute to the growing landscape of the IPL. Rajasthan Royals co-owner Manoj Badale has welcomed the idea but has stated that the quality needs to be maintained if an extra team is added.
Just after the conclusion of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League, the reports of a new team being added to the roster came to the fore, with the BCCI advising teams to be prepared for a mega auction. Some existing franchises have expressed concerns that it might dilute the central revenue pool but it comes as a positive news for the domestic Indian talents who otherwise don’t find a place in an IPL side. Rahul Dravid backed the idea by saying the addition of a new team will ensure more Indian talents finding limelight.
"I feel IPL is ready for expansion in terms of talent, if you look from a talent perspective. There are a lot of talented players who are not getting an opportunity to play. So I believe we are ready as there are a lot of new names and faces in terms of talent perspective,” Dravid said during the virtual launch of Badale's book 'A New Innings', which he co-authored with former English cricketer Simon Hughes, reported PTI.
"Earlier, you only depended on your state association to select you for Ranji Trophy. Now, from a state like Haryana which produces so many quality spinners like Yuzvendra Chahal, Amit Mishra and Jayant Yadav, Tewatia would have had limited opportunities. So it's no longer limited to state associations," said Dravid.
"As coaches, we can help the young players in their journeys but what helps them grow is experience. Look at a Devdutt Padikkal who is batting alongside Virat Kohli or can learn from AB de Villiers. Look at someone like T Natarajan. It was because of the quality of data that he was able to go back and work on his yorker and that one skill has now got him into the Indian team.”
While Badale is open to the idea, he is skeptical of the fact that if the BCCI squeezes the matches to the same number of days, it would create an imbalanced structure, with more afternoon games slotting in once again. Badale asked the BCCI to factor in all these ideas before going ahead with the plan for the 2021 season.
"BCCI needs to take a decision and they will take a call on what would be the exact approach. Making a nine-team league in 2021 is definitely possible but as a consequence, you will have to have more afternoon games and maintain the quality of the competition," Badale said.
