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Australia may have their IPL version
May 15, 2008 13:13 IST

Cricket Australia is contemplating its own version of IPL in a bid to cash in on the Twenty20 phenomenon.

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Envious of the money awash in the IPL, CA will consider staging a similar tournament, perhaps within two or three years.

While it's unlikely to be on the same scale as the 2 billion dollars IPL, senior CA officials believe some facets of the IPL could be transplanted to Australia. Whether teams remain under state jurisdiction or become privately-run franchises, as in the IPL, is still a point of debate.

The tournament, perhaps over three to four weeks, would be staged during an Australian summer, when home Test stars are available, and wouldn't clash with the lucrative IPL.

''I think you will notice some changes in two years' time,'' a CA source said yesterday.

CA spokesperson Peter Young last night confirmed the deliberation was on.

''In reality, we have taken a blank sheet of paper and say, 'what might a domestic Twenty20 competition look like?'' he said.

This revelation follows a call last month from Australian Cricketers' Association chief Paul Marsh for CA to look into hosting its own international Twenty20 tournament.

''It could be like soccer. The Indian league will be the Indian Premier League, and then you have the Australian league as the second league, or the English league or whatever it may be,'' Marsh said.

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