(Jamaica Gleaner) West Indies Players’ Association’s chief executive officer Michael Hall is calling for the establishment of a regional domestic Twenty20 league that mirrors the popular Indian Premier League (IPL), Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), or the Australian Twenty20 Big Bash League.
Describing such a move as “modern” and “profitable”, Hall, who was recently appointed to the post as a replacement for Dinanath Ramnarine, who resigned in March, said it would also result in increased opportunities for major stakeholders in the sport.
“A domestic Twenty20 league here in the West Indies that is similar to that of the top Twenty20 leagues around the world would be attractive to top players outside of the Caribbean, similar to how existing leagues are to our players,” said Hall.
“This would then result in a greater buy-in among key stakeholders of the sport, including players, officials, sponsors, and spectators, all of whom would stand to benefit greatly,” he added.
Hall, a former chief operations officer of the West Indies Cricket Board, made his pronouncement during last Friday’s Michael Manley Foundation symposium on cricket, which was held at the Liguanea Club.
The symposium, which had in attendance members of the local media and cricket fraternities, as well as academics, was moderated by attorney-at-law Delano Franklyn, and included former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd as a panellist.
Increased interest, participation
The cash-rich IPL, which has been around for five years, and the Big Bash League, seven, and the BPL, one, according to their respective parent cricket boards, has resulted in increased interest and participation in the sport in their respective countries.
This has led to many analysts, including Hall, uttering predictions that the money-earning future of the sport lies with that version of the game.
But according to Hall, for a Twenty20 league of the nature of IPL, BPL, or Big Bash to take place in the region, there would need to be a change in the structure and format of the current Caribbean Twenty20 Tournament.
The tournament, which has been around since 2010, is played using the traditional regional country-versus-country model, which is unlike the IPL, BPL, or Big Bash, which is city-franchise-based.
“For a domestic Twenty20 league of the ilk of the IPL or Big Bash to take off, the format and structure of the current Caribbean Twenty20 tournament would have to be changed,” he said.
“The region cannot have a Twenty20 league whereby it features a few overseas teams rather than a multitude of overseas players.
“What we need is a franchised-based T20 league, which will allow not only for the free movement of players around the region, but also for greater involvement of overseas players.”
