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Lawson wants careful management of events

Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson believes the lucrative Indian Twenty20 tournaments could have an adverse effect on the international cricket calendar if they are not managed carefully by national boards.

  • Reuters
  • Published: 00:30 February 29, 2008
  • Gulf News

Karachi: Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson believes the lucrative Indian Twenty20 tournaments could have an adverse effect on the international cricket calendar if they are not managed carefully by national boards.

"The IPL (Indian Premier League) and ICL (Indian Cricket League) have drawn lot of attention because of the big names and money involved, but the question is where will they be in two or three years time?" Lawson told reporters yesterday.

Bankrolled by the Indian Cricket Board and other test playing nations, the IPL is set to launch in April with a host of leading international players snapped up by the eight franchised teams for huge amounts of money.

Players banned

The unofficial ICL, which is backed by India's largest listed media firm, has also been signing up players on a regular basis and recently contracted around 10 from Pakistan.

Cricket boards have refused to recognise the ICL, however, and Pakistan has banned players from representing the country if they sign up for the league.

Lawson, a former Australian international paceman, said as long as the Twenty20 tournaments were able to fit into the international calendar it would be fine, otherwise it could be a problem.

"If the IPL and ICL overtake international cricket then there will be problems and it has to be managed very carefully," he added.

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