Former Australia captain Mark Taylor has questioned Cricket Australia (CA)’s plan to launch the next Big Bash League season in India, warning that it could take attention away from the traditional Test summer at home.
CA reportedly sent officials to India to finalise a deal that would see two BBL teams play the opening matches of the tournament in Chennai at Chepauk’s MA Chidambaram Stadium. The move is set to coincide with Australia’s home Test series against New Zealand, which begins in Perth on December 9, raising concerns about the overlap between franchise and international cricket.
Taylor admitted he was uneasy about the idea, particularly from the perspective of traditional cricket followers.
“You’re going to see two Big Bash teams go to India
right at the time that the Australian cricket team are playing a Test series here,” Taylor said on Nine’s Wide World of Sports.
“From a Test-watching lover, I don’t like it. I believe if it happens, it will be in early to mid-December when the Test matches are due to start. Australia play New Zealand in a four-match Test series on December 9To me, any sort of game like that we take away from the Test matches which I love.”
Taylor also questioned the practicality of staging matches in India during that period because of the weather conditions.
“But it is also monsoon season, so it would be strange to send two sides there and have a wash out game then they have to come back,” he said.
Cricket becoming a ‘mess’?
While acknowledging that BBL teams are accustomed to losing players during the international summer, Taylor believes the bigger issue is the growing influence of India and the IPL on the global cricket calendar.
“There are so many moving parts but the bottom line is that India is where the money is … it is up to CA to keep the BCCI happy,” he said. “They want the players to go to India and play, but most Australians are not following the IPL that closely. I am certainly not. It is a bit of a sideline … but it is now the main part of where world cricket is at.”
Taylor added that Australia’s own scheduling was already being affected by the IPL, describing the situation as “the sort of mess we have at the moment.”
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