IPL: ‘From a talent perspective, I think we’re ready for expansion’ – Rahul Dravid welcomes IPL expansion


IPL: ‘From a talent perspective, I think we’re ready for expansion’ – Rahul Dravid welcomes IPL expansion

Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid

Former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid welcomed reports of the Indian Premier League (IPL) expanding to include 9 teams and accommodate a mega auction for next year. Dravid’s remarks come following a report which was published in The New Indian Express which hinted at mega auctions for IPL 2021.

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Earlier it was reported that BCCI might not conduct big auctions before the start of the next season as IPL 2020 already got delayed. But the official has said that the Board has already informed the team owners to prepare for the auctions in the next couple of months. “The BCCI has told us to be prepared for an auction in a couple of months. Though it is not official, that they have asked us to be ready means they will go ahead as planned. Moreover, with a new team coming in, it makes sense to have an auction now rather than deferring it by a year,” the franchise official told TNIE.

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Speaking at the launch of the book ‘A New Innings’, Dravid batted for expansion of the IPL and said, “Purely from a talent perspective, I think we’re ready for an expansion. It’s been fantastic to see so many of those young Under-19 boys come on and establish themselves, not only for their state teams but also in the IPL. But many more are actually not getting opportunities. They are sitting outside in a lot of these teams, because the quality of the cricket is so good and there are so many good and experienced players.”

The former Indian captain was also all praise for Mumbai Indians for recognizing young talent and nurturing them.“This is why Mumbai Indians have been so good. What they’ve done really well over the last four or five years is to maintain a strong core of really high-quality players and mix that up with some really good young talents. They were able to spot Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya at a young age, they’ve brought in Rahul Chahar and backed Ishan Kishan, and while you wouldn’t exactly call Suryakumar Yadav a young player because he’s been around for a while, a large part of their success is down to a very good scouting structure,” Dravid added.

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The 47-year-old further spoke about how the IPL is not only about the top level. “Now the IPL is not only about the top level,” Dravid said. “In the past in Indian cricket, when young players were looking for opportunities, the only place they got them from was from the state associations. They needed to play for their Ranji Trophy team in their own state, but today because of the IPL, you can be from Karnataka and you can play for Mumbai,” he signed off.

Also Read: ‘A New Innings’ book launches today