Lush green carpet grass modern grounds, drop-in pitches, breezy atmosphere where fans holding beers in one hand while taking the catches from another, and teams fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with each-other.You ask any cricket fan in his sleep which are the top two T20 leagues in the world and he’d reply IPL and BBL.
Where IPL is full of entertainment and cricketing action, BBL offers ever-evolving innovation. They brought the glowing stumps to the game and now this new power-surge rule! BBL offers the most of what you’d expect from one of the best leagues in the world. However, there are three areas of improvement still needed to actually become the best in the world.
1. Players’ and Management’s salaries:
When it comes to the players’ salaries, IPL tops the charts with all the conviction in the world. In the recently concluded BBL season, the highest-paid player was D’Arcy Short who received around 1.5 Crore INR whereas, Virat Kohli was the highest paid in the recent most IPL and he received a whopping 17 Crore INR which is more than ten times than what the Australian southpaw received. Of course, it’s easier said than done but Cricket Australia would be exploring all the options to popularize the BBL, and further increase the fan-base.
2. Star faces from foreign lands:
Having a large volume of foreign star faces sets IPL apart from the other leagues. IPL allows 4 foreign players per playing eleven sides whereas BBL allows only 3 per team (that too they have recently increased). It’s always a trade-off between improving the domestic circuit cricket and getting more attention from the world but IPL has managed it better than BBL so far.
3. Auctions:
It’s always a debate whether auctions are better or contract culture. The whole buzz in and around the auctions just before the IPL sets a dramatic tone which builds the hype and acts as a publicity catalyst for the tournament. Cricket Australia should seriously consider integrating this approach for the BBL.
Also read:Ind vs Eng, 1st Test: Joe Root becomes 1st player to score a double-century in 100th test
