Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has recently claimed that India has a massive influence on world cricket. Afridi has stated that the reason behind this is that the country is the biggest market for the sport in the world. He was also quick to comment on India's influence in world cricket, saying, 'Whatever they will say will happen'.
"It all comes down to the market and the economy. The biggest [cricket] market is India. Whatever they will say will happen," said Afridi.
Referring to the recently-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season, the former all-rounder spoke about the cash-rich league's two-and-a-half month-long window. According to Afridi, the IPL have an impact on international cricket as well as the Pakistan Future Tour Programme schedule.
The former Pakistan star also added that India is a dominant force in world cricket and has enough influence to have such a long timeframe for the league. He said that everything boils down to the market and the economy. Afridi further commented that India is the biggest market for cricket at the moment and whatever they say will happen.
Last week, it was announced that the broadcasting rights for IPL were sold for close to Rs 48,390 crores for the next five years. This made it one of the richest leagues in world sports.
Disney Star retained the TV rights in the Indian subcontinent for Rs. 23,575 crores while Viacom 18 won the digital rights for India and broadcasting rights across three global regions (Australia + New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK) for Rs. 23,758 crores.
The overall deal for the new cycle is 2.96 times more than the previous deal (2018-22), which had gone for 16,347.5 crores at the time. The old cycle comprised 60 games per season.
However, for the new cycle, which will be starting from the next season, the IPL has listed a varying number of matches for each season. The 2023 and 24 seasons will have 74 games, while the 2025 and 26 seasons will have 84 each. The final year of the deal, in 2027, will have a maximum of 94 matches.
