Former Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri said he would not be surprised if the Indian Premier League (IPL) had two different seasons in one year. Shastri said that the television demand for more IPL matches can be met in the second season.
Shastri said, “I think you can host two IPL seasons. I wouldn’t be surprised at all. If bilateral cricket goes down, you’ll have more IPL time left in the year and more like the World Cup.” it will be played with knockouts, which will decide the winner.” “The entire competition with 10 teams can go ahead with 12 teams with a one-and-a-half to two-month schedule,” he said.
Shastri, a former all-rounder from India, who has played 80 Tests and 150 ODIs, believes IPL development is also good for the game. All of this is possible because he is driven by the supply and demand for money. The demand for that type of format is huge.
Ravi Shastri said, “IPL can be expanded. It’s great for sports. It’s great for gamers, broadcasters and people who work in teams. (IPL) is now an industry unto itself.”
There was a lot of discussion about the global cricket calendar last week after the multi-talented Ben Stokes pulled out of ODI cricket citing the heavy workload of playing all three formats of the game. Shastri believes that the reduction of the bilateral T20 series is a suitable solution to solve the scheduling problem.