Franchises want full-fledged IPL without tinkering its quality: Venky Mysore

Venky Mysore, the CEO of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), is apprehensive about compromising on the quality of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He said that the other franchises are also of the same opinion, wanting the T20 tournament to take place without any changes. For the time being, the IPL remains postponed for an indefinite time period due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The IPL was set to get underway on March 29, but the COVID-19 has put clouds of uncertainty over it. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is desperately looking for a window as cancellation of the event could lead to massive losses and even pay cuts for the cricketers.

Mysore mentioned that he along with the other teams wants the IPL to take place in full form. He put forth his opinions on the sidelines of the launch of KKR Sahayata Vahan in order to serve the ones affected in the COVID-19 and Amphan Cyclone in West Bengal.

The quality of the product is what has made the IPL special, says Mysore

“One thing that I feel strongly about and we feel strongly about is that we should not tinker with the quality of the product that we have,” Mysore was quoted as saying in The Times of India (TOI).

“The quality of the product is what has made it really, really special. I think it is safe to say that the collective view is that we have to have the tournament in its full format, the same number of games, with all the players part of it,” he added.

There were also suggestions that the IPL could take place without the overseas players, bearing in mind the travel restrictions imposed. Reduction in the number of games were also discussed in a meeting between the BCCI and the franchise owners in March. However, most of the franchises voted in favour of having the foreign cricketers.

“I think the majority of the franchises, I know there are one or two who have answered it slightly differently, but when I talk to them offline, they say that they were misquoted. I would hope that whichever window, we end up staging the IPL that we’ll be in a position to achieve that,” Mysore quipped.