Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes that in future the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be played in two different editions in a year, with the latter edition being a short knockout competition which will be played in the same format as the World Cup is played.
Along with this, Ravi Shastri also said that he would not be surprised if bilateral cricket gets reduced in the coming years.
Shastri believes that in future two more teams can also be increased in IPL, so that one season can go on longer. According to him, this is possible because the tournament is run by money and demand. According to him, this expansion will be great for the game, players and broadcasters.
Shastri said in Telegraph Sports’ Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club Podcast that, “I think you might have two (IPL) seasons. I wouldn’t be surprised at all. If bilateral cricket is reduced, you might well have a shorter format of the IPL in the latter half of the year, more like a World Cup format with a knockout that decides the winner.”
Ravi Shastri further said that in future instead of 10 teams, the competition could be played with 12 teams and the schedule could be increased to 2 months instead of one and a half month. “The full competition with 10 teams could go to 12 teams in the future with the schedule stretching from one-and-a-half to two months,” Shastri said.
Ravi Shastri further said that that this will be a big decision for the game, for the players, for the broadcasters and for all the people who work for these teams. The former India boss believes that the T20 cricket is future of cricket and IPL is leading the path of it.
He said that the rise in number of T20 leagues around the world means that Bilateral series will be reduced and people will play more T20 leagues and believes that it will make the T20 World Cup more paramount and people will be eager to watch it.