IPL poses a massive threat to cricket, feels http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Carl-Llewellyn-Hooper-c49231 – Cricket News Update
Carl Hooper, the former West Indies captain, feels that the Indian Premier League (IPL) is a massive threat for the game and expressed that Test cricket remains the pinnacle of the sport, despite all the glamour attached with the limited-over formats.
Since its inception in 2008, the IPL has changed the face of the game, making T20 extremely popular around the world. It has brought more sponsorship in cricket, helping the players earn millions every single season.
However, according to a number of former cricketers, the IPL has turned out to be a curse for international cricket, with a number of star players preferring to take part in the cash-rich league, instead of representing their country.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DJ-Bravo-c1379 have missed many international series over the years and refused to compromise on their IPL contracts.
Hooper expressed that international cricket has to be the priority of every player but it gets affected if the high-profile players are not on show. The former middle-order batsman wants the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 to take appropriate measures before franchise cricket further hurts the game.
The former captain urged the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to get all the major players into the central contracts and make sure that they are available in every series.
"One of the biggest threats facing cricket is the IPL. The spectators want to see the best players. If I looked up and saw no Gayle or key players named to play I would just say forget about it, stay home," said Hooper. "They have to figure out a way to get our key players contracted. If Narine has a central contract that would mean he would have to play for the West Indies.”
The 45-year-old ex-Guyana cricketer is of the opinion that Test cricket is the game’s ultimate stage and a good 5-day version player can adjust in any conditions or any format.
“I am old fashioned, I believe in Test cricket. If you have a solid base in Test cricket you can adjust your game to suit any other format," he mentioned.
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