‘Health of international cricket will safeguard health of cricket as whole’: R Ashwin on rise in T20 leagues

Cricket South Africa recently scrapped their ODI series against Australia in January next year to focus entirely on their new T20 league, which will see six franchises owned by IPL owners taking part.

The rise of franchise cricket has been heavily debated by experts, who also believe the future of international cricket or at least the 50-over format looks bleak. The debate triggered with Ben Stokes announcing his retirement from the format, which came as a shock to many. And weeks after Trent Boult followed a similar route, the difference being the Kiwi quick instead asked the New Zealand Cricket Board to release him from his central contract.

R Ashwin signs autographs for fans after attending a training session in Birmingham, England (AP/File Photo)

Boult, however, will continue to play in various league across the globe and he was recently signed by the MI Emirates franchise for the inaugural edition of the International League T20 (ILT20) tournament, which will be played in UAE next year. While players are getting more inclined towards participating in franchise cricket, the boards have also started following a similar pattern.

Cricket South Africa recently scrapped their ODI series against Australia in January next year to focus entirely on their new T20 league, which will see six franchises owned by IPL owners taking part.

Sharing his thoughts on the same, India's star spinner R Ashwin feels the rise of franchise cricket will have a big impact on the international calendar. He also cautioned the stakeholders to take things a bit slow.

"The future of international cricket and its calendar is going to be largely affected by franchise cricket. We should take these leagues forward carefully. The health of international cricket will safeguard the health of cricket as a whole," the carrom-ball specialist said in a video shared on his YouTube channel.