ICC won’t introduce IPL window

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will not introduce a window for the Indian Premier League (IPL) in its Future Tours Programme (FTP), said outgoing CEO Haroon Lorgat.

Lorgat said if the ICC were to create a window for the IPL, it would have to do so for other domestic Twenty20 leagues .

“The consequence of that (an IPL window) is what do we do with the Big Bash League? What do we do with other premier leagues- Sri Lanka is launching one, Bangladesh has one,” Lorgat said.

“I know people might say the IPL is the premier league, but once you provide a window for one particular member, you have to be conscious of the fact you may well have to do it for other members. Hence, why we have not been supportive of a window specifically for any one of those domestic leagues.”

IPL’s fixture clashes with the schedules of other countries since the league began in 2008 has been caused a number of difficulties for world cricket.

This year West Indies players had to choose between the IPL and their home test series against Australia. Next year New Zealand’s cricketers will have a similar decision to make regarding their tour of England.

Cricket Australia CEO, James Sutherland, said national boards are trying to make it possible for their players to play in the IPL.

“I think there’s a notional window already for the IPL. I think it exists. There’s an inevitability around some overlap and countries are working around that to the best of their ability,” he said.

“There are challenges ultimately — it’s been raised with clashes from time to time. But I think there’s a national window that most countries are working with and around, in order to allow their players the opportunity to play in IPL,” Sutherland said.