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- #126
This is where each nation's cricket administrators have been found wanting. They have each continued to act in their own interest and as long as shit was happening to someone else, well, that was their problem.I'm more worried about what happens in five years when a LIV equivalent comes along and says 'stuff your international window, we will just buy the best 120 players in the world and put them on a 9 month circuit'. Money talks. Lots of money talks loudly.
Australia never cared about the problems of NZ, Pakistan, Windies etc. and didn't worry about the IPL because it didn't encroach on our summer window. But wait, suddenly South Africa has an IPL lite comp running at the same time as the BBL. Okay, now T20 is a problem!
Same for England. Blessed with a northern summer window and thought nothing could touch them. God, it has been glorious to listen to their fanboys (especially the teenagers running Wisden now) waking up to the threat of the North American league as well as talk of the IPL extending into their season.
And India. The BCCI has always acted in its own interests with a view that being the biggest and with the IPL, they'd be fine. But, they've underpaid their players - total salary cap across the 10 teams for 2024 is just under $190 million. That's the sort of stuff the Saudis can find down the back of the couch. Seriously, if the Saudis three $30 billion at the IPL franchise owners, do you really think they're going to say no for the good of the game?
As the BCCI has undermined the international game and become beholden to the IPL franchise owners, it's losing its one real threat over players: that if you go off to a private league somewhere else, you'll miss out on national selection. In a few years, that won't matter.
T20 league cricket isn't like soccer with its strong traditional geographical roots (i.e. Barcelona isn't going to up sticks and move to Jeddah, no matter what the price). T20 is more like F1 which has always been happy to whore itself out to the highest bidder. A Saudi backed T10 competition that runs from January to November? That's the likely future.