Less-taxing schedule the way forward for the IPL
Gaurav Kalra, writing for the IBN Live website, proposes a radical alternative to the 94-game rigmarole that IPL 2011 is currently proposed to be
Nitin Sundar
25-Feb-2013
Gaurav Kalra, writing for the IBN Live website, proposes a radical alternative to the 94-game rigmarole that IPL 2011 is currently proposed to be. With franchises unlikely to keep the national cause in mind and guard against burn-out, he suggests that the way forward is in regionally segregating the teams into two leagues.
Divide the league into 2 groups of 2 regions each. North and South. North features Delhi, Punjab, Jaipur, Kolkata and Mumbai. South features Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Pune. Teams play the others in their group home and away. The top two make it to the semis from each group.
While the number of games are reduced to 48 or so, it provides the opportunity to schedule more games to be fit into prime-time TV schedules. It reduces the number of games each player has to play to 11 each. And it considerably reduces travel between venues. Otherwise imagine Kings XI Punjab playing Kochi in Chandigarh. A day to travel to the venue and another day to travel back. All this to play a 3-hour match. Doesn't add up.
Nitin Sundar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo