New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) The Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi has defended franchise cricket’s growing influence on the modern game, saying the long-running club-versus-country debate no longer holds relevance because tournaments like the IPL are now producing better and more fearless cricketers for international cricket.

Discussing the influence of franchise leagues on young players, Modi explained that the IPL has transformed the traditional pathway to the top by offering immediate opportunities, high-pressure environments and global exposure at an early stage of a player’s career.

“The club-versus-country debate is now an old debate. Franchise cricket, and especially the IPL, has become the ultimate testing ground for youngsters,” Modi told IANS.

He stated that the league provides something to young cricketers that the older domestic system could not: a platform where they can display their talent in the bigger arena.

“It gives players something the old system could never give at this scale — instant opportunity, pressure, exposure and a fair stage to prove merit. A youngster does not have to wait years in the shadows anymore,” he added.

Modi stated that the league does not merely judge them at the lower level and later give a chance at a bigger level, but is ready to make their life tough by playing against the best cricketers of the world. The Indian administrator stated that the IPL forces young cricketers to face the best in the business right from the word go and this gives them mental toughness required for playing at a global stage.

“If he has talent, the IPL puts him under the brightest lights, against the best players in the world, and asks one simple question: can you perform?” Modi said.

Slamming the critics, who believe franchise cricket is hurting international cricket, he said that the leagues like IPL are making their country’s teams strong.

“That is why the IPL is not weakening international cricket; it is strengthening it. It is creating better, braver and more prepared cricketers for India and for every cricketing country,” he said.

–IANS

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