Indian players want to play The Hundred and other leagues: Morgan

England white-ball and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Eoin Morgan, claims that a lot of Indian players are interested in being a part of his country’s ambitious The Hundred league as well as other franchise events across the globe.

Eoin Morgan also urged the game’s administrators to have a roadmap for the next 10 years to ensure that top players are not forced to choose a lucrative league career over international cricket.

“Just having conversations out here about The Hundred, I know that there are Indian cricketers out here who would love to play in The Hundred and other competitions around the world,” Morgan was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.

“They love travelling and experiencing new conditions and cultures, and they would add huge value to a tournament like that. My biggest worry is that the game isn’t changing and accommodating the pace at which it is growing,” he added.

The Hundred, which is a franchise-based 100-ball cricket event, was supposed to start last year in England but was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The tournament will be played from July 22, later this year.

According to Morgan, in another decade’s time, the franchise leagues will take over international cricket. He further stated that the custodians of the game have made is not segregating the three formats properly.

“It is definitely an area of concern and one that needs improvement going forward because you play against countries and some aren’t able to play their best XIs because they are competing against big leagues around the world,” he stated.

“Whoever is in charge needs to think about what that looks like in 10 years’ time because if they don’t manage it, franchise leagues around the world will become more dominant,” Morgan told former England skipper Nasser Hussain during the chat.

“One of the biggest mistakes we make as a sport is having all three formats overlap or not recognising the roles that they play within the game. T20 cricket is an avenue for a young kid who has never seen the game and sees this big shiny thing on TV with stars and the ball being blasted everywhere,” Morgan explained.

“50-over cricket has a different dynamic, it gives you a little bit of everything all in one day. Test match cricket is our most prestigious game for our elite players. It will always be like that and for a very few countries around the world, it is prioritised,” the Ireland-born player signed off.