Xtra Time Web Desk: Former India captain Rahul Dravid strongly believes that there are a lot of talents available in the country for BCCI to expand the number of teams in the next season of IPL. There are talks that IPL 2021 will be featuring nine teams instead of eight and will go up to 10 teams by 2023, which has always been the BCCI’s long-term plan.
The views of Dravid, who is now the director of National Cricket Academy (NCA), were echoed by Rajasthan Royals co-owner Manoj Badale, who felt that a nine-team IPL in 2021 is “definitely possible”.
“I feel IPL is ready for expansion in terms of talent, if you look from talent perspective. There are a lot of talented players who are not getting an opportunity to play.”
Dravid said that if there are more teams, all the talented players could be fitted in and there won’t be a drop in quality.
“So I believe we are ready as there are lot of new names and faces in terms of talent perspective,” Dravid said during the virtual launch of Badale’s book ‘A New Innings’, which he co-authored with former English cricketer Simon Hughes.
Dravid explained why Mumbai Indians have been such a prolific team having won an unprecedented five IPL titles in 13 editions.
“They (MI) have a strong core with high quality. Their core is built with world-class T20 players and balanced with young exciting talent. They have a very strong scouting structure in place,” Dravid said.
He said it is because of IPL that someone like Rahul Tewatia from Haryana has been able to showcase his skills to a global audience.
“Earlier, you only depended on your state association to select you for Ranji Trophy. Now, from a state like Haryana which produces so many quality spinners like Yuzvendra Chahal, Amit Mishra and Jayant Yadav, Tewatia would have had limited opportunities.
“So it’s no longer limited to state associations,” said Dravid.