Moody warns Oz against copying IPL

Mohali, May 23 (UNI) Cautioning Cricket Australia (CA) against duplicating the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kings XI Punjab coach Tom Moody said the sucess of the lucrative Twenty20 league may not repeat itself Down Under.

''There is a couple of major differences between Australia and India. One is obviously a billion people, and the other is the economy that underpins the billion people,'' Moody was quoted as saying by the local media.

''A franchise system (in India) has proven successful purely because it has the economy to drive that. Cricket doesn't have competition in India, where it is by far the No. 1 passion,'' he added. ''In Australia, cricket is very much a first-love summer sport, but competes against many others so I think the answer is, it could work, but I don't think we will be seeing the same level of new revenue pushed into the game.'' The CA is thinking of setting up its own version of the IPL.

It is studying models in India, US and South Africa as it seeks to expand the Twenty20 Big Bash to eight teams by the 2009-10 season including at least one from trans-Tasmanian rivals New Zealand.

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