ICC will explore IPL window, says Lorgat

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC's chief executive, has conceded that players could be tempted to reduce or end their involvement in international cricket to participate in lucrative domestic Twenty20 leagues. In an interview with Cricinfo, Lorgat also revealed that an IPL window would be considered for the new Future Tours Programme (FTP), and stated his opposition to calls for an expansion of Twenty20 cricket at international level.

While expressing confidence that the majority of international cricketers were still driven to represent their countries in Test and limited-overs fixtures, Lorgat admitted that the riches on offer in the IPL would prove the stronger motivation for some players. The ICC, he said, was investigating a number of measures to safeguard international cricket from the proliferating Twenty20 leagues, but feared other players could subscribe to the sentiments of Chris Gayle, the West Indian captain, who recently suggested cricketers could shun international matches for large Twenty20 paydays.

"I have no doubt that there will be some players who will believe that, who would see that," Lorgat said. "But I know there are equally a lot of players who will want to keep their avenues open to playing and competing at an international level. There would be some who would prefer or enjoy making the best financial rewards, and there are others who will want a balance between what they make in terms of a good reward and representing their countries.

"We would be foolish not to recognise that the environment is changing. It was unfortunate that Chris Gayle's comments were portrayed in that fashion. I'm sure on reflection he must be thinking twice about what he said, because if you speak to many, many players - and I do engage with the players - they still recognise Test cricket as the ultimate form of the game. They want to be tested and rated on that form of the game. Maybe Chris Gayle is appearing in a phase of his life where it is less important to him, but I can promise you that the younger generation of players that I speak to are far from the sentiment that Chris Gayle expresses."

Lorgat said a number of measures were being considered to ensure the primacy of international cricket, including efforts to better promote and market the Test and one-day formats. But Lorgat was cautious about the possibility of creating an IPL window in the cricketing calendar - a move that has the strong backing of players and their unions - questioning whether such a development would create precedents for other domestic Twenty20 leagues around the world.

"We will explore that," Lorgat said. "We will look at all things. We are busy discussing the FTP post-2012, and we will have to look logically at what is right. But it's very difficult for us to create a window for a domestic event, because that's not what the FTP is.

"The FTP is an international basket of fixtures. That's what it is. The rest of the domestic seasons for every member country sorts themselves out. You could feasibly (create an IPL window), but why would you do it? It's a domestic event. If you do it in one domestic season, what about all the other domestic seasons? There could be many others that arise. The FTP is done by the members for international fixtures."

Despite criticism of the scheduling of cricket, Lorgat insisted he was satisfied with the balance of the cricketing calendar. The new FTP, he believes, will be similar to the current model which expires in 2012, albeit with a greater emphasis on marquee series.

A number of players and officials have insisted in recent months that cricket's current scheduling is not sustainable, and could push fatigued players into the seductive embrace of domestic Twenty20 leagues. The recent series between England and the West Indies - scheduled outside the FTP - attracted particularly fierce criticism with some, including the West Indies Players Association, accusing boards of greed by cramming too many matches into the cricketing calendar.

"If I have got some serious influence on the Twenty20 competition, it should be not much different to what we see today," Lorgat said. "That's simply because we are very fortunate they we have three viable formats. We know Twenty20 is hugely attractive. We've got to be careful how much of that dosage we pass onto the audience. We have to balance in some respect between Test, 50-over and Twenty20. I think at the moment we've got it right. It's attraction is unequalled, and here we are on the eve of a world tournament (World Twenty20)."

Lorgat also maintained that Twenty20 cricket should not be expanded at international level.

"What I do believe is that it should be more a domestic form of the game rather than international," he said. "We've got great forms in Test cricket, being the pinnacle of the game, and the 50-over game I still believe is alive and well. We will see that in due course. I agree with the current balance that we've got with internationals being limited in terms of the 20-over form."