T20 Leagues Are A Threat For International Cricket, Says Faf du Plessis
Faf du Plessis, who will play for Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL, said if the guardians of the game don't take corrective steps now, international cricket runs the risk of losing out to domestic leagues in future, just like soccer.
South Africa and Chennai Super Kings’ batsman Faf du Plessis made a staggering statement on T20 cricket, saying the rapid rise of T20 leagues around the world pose a massive threat to international cricket.
The South-African further said that the cricket boards must find a fine balance between leagues and international cricket.
“T20 leagues are a threat for international cricket. The power of the leagues are growing year by year and obviously in the beginning there might be just 2 leagues around the world and now its becoming 4,5, 6,7 leagues in a year. The leagues are just getting stronger,” he said in a virtual media interaction ahead of the Pakistan Super League.
Du Plessis, who will play for Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL, which resumes on June 9 after Covid-forced postponement, said if the guardians of the game don’t take corrective steps now, international cricket runs the risk of losing out to domestic leagues in future, just like soccer.
“That is a huge challenge. May be in 10 years time cricket will almost be like soccer where you have your world events and in between you have these leagues around the world where players can play,” the veteran South African batsman said.
Earlier this year, Faf was a part of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL). He played some big knocks for the yellow army. The Pretoria-born has also taken part in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), Big Bash League (BBL), Mzansi Super League (MSL), and England’s T20 tournaments.
As far as the PSL is concerned, apart from the Gladiators, Faf has played for the Peshawar Zalmi, now led by fast bowler Wahab Riaz. The second leg of PSL 2021 will take part entirely at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi after the tournament was halted back in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
