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Journalism of Courage
The gruelling 44-day schedule of the IPL, sandwiched into an already tight international calendar, has drawn a fair bit of flak. And players themselves are hardly taking kindly to IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi’s suggestion of holding the tournament twice a year from 2011 on.
If it was Delhi Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag who came down heavily against the idea yesterday, today it was the turn of Bangalore Royal Challengers skipper Rahul Dravid. “I personally would hate to see any Future Test Programme of the ICC being diluted to incorporate another season of IPL in a year. Test cricket has a history and has a lot of value and I hope it is never tampered with. I believe in the sanctity of the game,” said Dravid.
He also said that it would be difficult to fit in another edition of the tournament in a year. “It would be difficult considering the way the future tours are structured and the way matches are scheduled,” Dravid said. His comments came in the wake of Sehwag objecting to the idea yesterday. Sehwag had said that it could spark off premature retirements. “I think having it twice a year is not the right way to go. It could force international players to retire prematurely,” the Indian opener had said.
Even former international cricketers Wasim Akram and Javed Miandad had strongly opposed the idea. “The IPL should never be allowed to interfere in international cricket,” Akram had said.
However, Dravid said that the next edition of the IPL in 2009 would enhance the level of competition. “We have learnt quite a bit and next year, not just us but other teams and franchises also will be better prepared. This year everything fell in place in a few months and there was a bit of a rush, but next year there will be time to prepare in terms of infrastructure as well as the game. Personally, I started off a bit slow before picking up (momentum) but it is the team’s success that matters and it was unfortunate that we couldn’t get going,” Dravid said.
After the Royal Challengers owner Vijay Mallya sacked Charu Sharma from the post of CEO following the team’s poor performance, grapevine had it that Dravid may also step down. Under the circumstances, it was hard to figure out if the former India captain was only being realistic or non-commital when asked about his participation next year. “I have enjoyed playing in this edition. And if I keep playing well and remain fit till the next edition, I will be there,” Dravid said.
