World Class Cast Makes IPL Special, Don't Tinker With Product: KKR CEO Venky Mysore

Changing the format of the IPL to help accommodate the rest of the cricket calendar which has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic is not likely to go down well with the franchises according to Kolkata Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore.

He explained that all franchises would want the event to be held in the way it is meant to be despite the situation now as it will tinker with the quality of the product.

"One thing that I feel strongly about and we feel strongly about is that we should not tinker with the quality of the product that we have," Mysore said.

"The quality of the product is what has made it really, really special. I think it is safe to say that the collective view is that we have to have the tournament in its full format, the same number of games, with all the players part of it," he said.

The KKR CEO said foreign players have played a crucial role in the league's success.

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"It is primarily our Indian players who are the backbone of any team. But I think we should recognise that when you look at even our own team, a Sunil Narine, an Andre Russell, an Eoin Morgan and now Pat Cummins come as a combination to our excellent lineup that we have on the Indian side, makes it really special," he explained.

The IPL was postponed indefinitely after a lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic came into force in March. There is still no clarity on whether it will be held this year, but there seems to be a likely window in October-November due to the uncertainty surrounding the T20 World Cup.

However, the ICC are not in any hurry to take a decision about the T20 World Cup and will take up the matter again in July.

There are suggestions that the IPL could be conducted without overseas players, keeping in mind the restrictions on travel imposed by various countries besides reducing the number of games to fit it into a shorter window.

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The issue was discussed at a meeting between the BCCI and the franchises in March, where most of the owners asserted that they would prefer to have the overseas players.

"I think the majority of the franchises, I know there are one or two who have answered it slightly differently, but when I talk to them offline, they say that they were misquoted," Mysore said.

"I would hope that whichever window, we end up staging the IPL that we'll be in a position to achieve that," he added.

"I think it is without doubt that the IPL as a product has become the biggest spectacle, the biggest product which has caught the imagination not only of India as a country but the world at large."

(With Agency inputs)