ICC VP nominee Isaac may win Asian vote for supporting IPL window creation in FTP

SYDNEY - Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket’s nominee for the ICC vice-presidency, Alan Isaac, has come out in support of creating windows for the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the Future Tours Program (FTP), which could improve his chances of securing the post with the help of the Asian Bloc.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the biggest issue facing the game is the overcrowding of the Future Tours Program (FTP), with the influx of domestic leagues like the IPL squeezing an international calendar already packed with three forms of cricket.

An ICC sub-committee is remodelling the FTP to leave holes for the IPL and Champions Twenty20 League, both multimillion-dollar tournaments that feature the world’s best players.

“The Future Tours Program has to allow the IPL, because unless it is accommodated we will end up with more challenges,” Isaac told the SMH last night.

“There will be more pressure put around the scheduling of ICC events [such as World Cups and the Champions Trophy], and those ICC events are so critical to members because of the revenue generated. It has to be worked into the Future Tours Program because there is a demand and an interest. The players seem to like it, and there is more money coming into the game,” he added.

Isaac, who assumes the ICC presidency in 2012, also supports the creation of a Test championship series, and hopes at the end of his tenure, all international cricket matches have context and happily co-exist with lucrative domestic leagues.

The IPL is seen as the biggest threat to international cricket, with a growing belief players are cutting their careers short to chase the big money on offer.

With so much cricket being played, there has predictably been clashes and many international players have expressed disappointment at missing out because they must play for their countries.

In some instances, players have stretched their participation in the IPL to a ridiculous degree, flying to another country the day before an international series.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India, which owns the IPL and reaps enormous financial reward from it, has strongly lobbied for the creation of a window in the FTP and now have an ally in Isaac, who is expected to be officially endorsed by the ICC in coming days.

Cricket Australia board members refused to put forward another nominee yesterday, still seething over the treatment of Howard.

To date, it has not received any official explanation for the snubbing of the former Australian prime minister, but it is widely known African nations were opposed because of his previous political stance against Zimbabwe, while India did not want someone of his stature overseeing their operations.

Isaac, 58, said the belief India ruled the game with an iron fist is not correct, although he conceded the ICC has a major image problem which he hopes to fix.

“I think one of the most important things is that we work to enhance the reputation of the ICC,” Isaac said.

“There is no doubt [India] are powerful, that is a matter of fact. When the ICC sells its commercial rights a lot of that comes from India, that is the commercial reality and we have got to recognise that. The Indian officials I have dealt with in my 20 months at the ICC have been really good to work with, there are no issues at all,” Issac said. (ANI)