MI in USA; KKR in WI; CSK in Singapore - IPL Governing Council likely to come up with friendlies

The Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council has said that the franchises be allowed to explore the idea of holding overseas ties. It was decided in the first meeting of the body. The move to take part in the matches won’t bear the stamp of the tournament and it’s mostly a part of the brand-building exercise. For the time being, it’s only a proposal and nothing has been finalized.

The same has to be put forth in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at the end of November for approval. It’s for the first time in 12 years that the Governing Council’s call has considered the chances of the IPL going global.

As of now, the BCCI has allowed neither the franchises nor the teams to take part in overseas fixtures. In an interview with The Times of India (TOI), an industry executive, who was in favour of the favour of the move for long, said: “There’s a very simple way to look at it. Until now, if you were in Canada and were interested in watching Mumbai Indians play, you had to fly all the way to India.

If you were in the Caribbean, interested in watching Shahrukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders in action, you had no choice but to travel half the globe. Now, the circus may come to a town near you.”

It was time that something like this was considered in the IPL

Mumbai Indians (MI) were among the first teams, who wished to play some games in Canada. There is a prospect for KKR touring the Caribbean when Shahrukh owns the Trinbago Knight Riders. In the same way, Chennai Super Kings could go to Singapore where there is a decent population of the Tamilians. Sunrisers Hyderabad can build a fanbase in the Silicon Valley.

“It was time that something like this was considered. Who knows? Next, it could be the players, maybe fringe players from India being allowed to play abroad,” say those familiar with the developments.

But there hasn’t been any concrete news about the overseas destination picked by the teams. “It is imperative for such ideas to be given priority. When the IPL went to South Africa 10 years ago, the fanfare there caught the global imagination. Even a 20-day stint in UAE, in 2014, had an alarming effect. There’s a market and this is business. It has to grow if the sport has to,” says industry veterans.

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