Kevin Pietersen's retirement - franchise cricket's victory? - Opinion
England’s premier middle-order batsman, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KP-Pietersen-c1806, called it a day on international limited-over cricket last week but will continue to play in the longer version of the sport. The legendary right-handed batsman stated that his body does not allow
him to play too much cricket now but ironically, he refused to retire from the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"With the intensity of the international schedule and the increasing demands on my body, I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through to gain experience for the World Cup in 2015," Pietersen said while announcing
his retirement.
Since the inauguration of IPL in 2008, the cash-rich tournament has shortened the careers of many international stars as they get a chance to make a lot more money in lesser time. Many high-profile players have started to see the league as their priority
and consequently, international cricket is suffering big time and many former cricketers fear that franchise cricket is going to be a curse for the game in the coming years.
Some believe that the game is getting faster with the passage of time and the future of cricket lies with clubs and franchises, while the international game will take the backseat, just like football.
However, the real beauty of cricket lies in its global version and Test cricket should always remain the priority for any upcoming player. All the greats of the game believe that if cricket is to survive in the future, the International Cricket Council (http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625)
must intervene and prove its credibility as a governing body of the game.
Pietersen has had rough relations with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c749 and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) over the years and IPL has been the major reason behind the disputes. ECB does not encourage its contracted players to play in IPL as it wants the guys to be fresh for international
sport.
The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 born cricketer expressed his admiration for IPL during the current season and said, "It's something that's there which all the best players in the world play in. There is no need to defend myself. I will play in the IPL, it's the best tournament
going, and that's the way it is."
There is no doubt about the fact that a heavy contract with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Delhi-c780 Daredevils has been a motivation for Pietersen to retire from international limited-over cricket. It is such a shame for the game that a player of his class will not play the shorter formats
of the game at an age of only 31, but will be seen in IPL.
Many will say that IPL is just a month and a half long tournament and the great batsman’s body can afford such a workload along with Test cricket. However, the matter of fact is that IPL takes a lot out of a player’s body because there is not much gap between
the matches and the off-field activities are on top of that.
Pietersen is not the only player whose career has been hampered by IPL as another legendary batsman, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 Cricket Board (WICB).
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SL-Malinga-c2540 is another example, who retired from Test cricket just to prolong his limited-over career but he does not want to miss out on a single IPL fixture.
Players are professional and they have the right to earn but the authorities must make sure that international cricket’s importance is not undermined.
Disclaimer: Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the author and do not represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy
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