/skyfair-news/media/agency_attachments/9rkuzSNg4i8sCUVbaBqx.png)
/skyfair-news/media/post_banners/oXjhOfHLWZxjsTWfFlJZ.png)
Jay Shah, Sourav Ganguly and Pakistan Team (Source: Twitter)
The media rights auction of the Indian T20 League created a lot of buzz in the entire cricketing fraternity as the Indian Cricket board sold the rights for the cycle (2023-27) for a whopping sum of over 48,000 crores. The deal made IPL the second most valuable sporting tournament in the world.
Former Pakistan team Captain Rashid Latif feels that the league doesn’t have any quality in terms of cricket and is just a money-making tool.
"It's about business and not cricket. This is not ideal situation. If we have to give money, then many people earn money. This is not about quality at all, it is business totally," Rashid Latif said in a discussion on YouTube channel Caught Behind.
"Call Indians and ask them for how many hours did they watch the matches (in Indian T20 League). This is business. I have said nothing else. Give whatever name you might, value of the product etc. This is business. We have to see how much it sustains,” Latif added.
The T20 extravaganza has seen tremendous growth ever since its first season way back in 2008. The Indian Cricket Board has tried experimenting with the tournament with 10 franchises in 2011 and now again in 2022. The two new teams Lucknow and Gujarat have got a large fanbase in the first season itself. Gujarat went on to become the champions in their debut season itself.
The secretary of the Indian Cricket Board Jay Shah has confirmed recently that going forward, the league will have more games and there will be a separate window for the Indian T20 league. The Indian Cricket Board is already in contact with the other nation’s cricket boards and the apex cricket body to have a separate window for the tournament.
“Let me inform you that from the next FTP calendar, Indian T20 League will have an official two-and-a-half-month window so that all the top international cricketers can participate. We have had discussions with various boards as well as the apex cricket body," Shah told news agency PTI.