IPL 2023: Scott Styris bats for expansion of Indian Premier League

Former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris on Friday extended his support to the two-month long window for the Indian Premier League in the new Future Tour Programmes cycle. The International Cricket Council on Wednesday released the Men’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) 2023-27, confirming the international calendar for all Full Members across all three formats of the game. In total, there will be 777 international matches - 173 Tests, 281 ODIs and 323 T20Is - in the 2023-2027 FTP cycle compared to the 694 in the current one. “I remember 10 years ago the conversation was all around how it was going to creep four or five days each year and it will get to a three-month season. Well, we are starting to get there now. It is just taking a little longer than we expected, and I think you are right. I think it will become the focal point that will allow all the players from all over the world to come together and play without any issues from a nationality perspective. And that is not necessarily a bad thing. I was in favour of it 10 years ago and I’m in favour of it now,” said Styris on Sports 18 show ‘Sports Over The Top’. On India, England and Australia playing a lot more series and matches during the current FTP cycle, Styris said that the reason is that they are three big teams and help the sport make a lot of money. “But you know, it is very, very tough thing to have a meaningful competition when teams play different amounts of games. Think about the English Premier League. Football’s big in India. You know you do not see Man United play Liverpool five times and yet Burnley plays West Ham just once. You know it is an even playing field. Everybody plays everybody the same amount of time. So in a perfect world, I would love to see that being the case. But sometimes money talks and therefore those big marquee teams need to play,” he added. India will be playing 27 ODI matches before the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. Meanwhile, Men in Blue will play 5 match Test series against England and Australia in the cycle. India will be playing 44 Tests, 63 ODI and 76 T20I from Aug 18, 2022 to February 2027. England will play the most Tests in the cycle - 22. Australia will play 21 Tests in the period, while India will play 20. Styris also spoke about the future of 50-over format of the game. “Yeah, that is a tough one. This one I have not really worked out in my head and the reason for that is I really enjoyed one-day cricket. I felt it was a mixture of power which I like in terms of cricket. I think that just allows itself to fit in with other sports around the world. Power, speed, you know, strength all of those things, stamina, agility, all of that kicks in as well as the traditional cricket where there is the rotation of the strike. There’s outthinking opposition. There are all of those aspects. It was the best of both worlds,” he said. “So, I would love to see it continue and I would love to see it still have meaning, not just at the World Cup. But then again, we have just talked about how so much cricket is now in the calendar. How do you fit it all in?” he added.