Australia captain Ricky Ponting is against the proposed super-contracts in the Indian Premier League. He feels having no cap on players' salary will adversely affect the level of competition of the Twenty20 extravaganza.
There is a proposal to have the salary cap removed, which will allow the top players to get whopping US $14-15 million worth contracts.
Currently the salary cap for each team is US $5 million and Ponting believes it should stay.
Super-contracts will create a free market, like the English Premier League in football, where cash-rich franchisees will have endless purchasing power.
Ponting said no salary cap would squeeze out the keen competition from the IPL, making it a drab affair.
"I have certainly heard there may be no salary cap next year but I'm not sure if that will be good for the IPL," Ponting was quoted as saying in The Australian.
"The more I have thought about it, it might be detrimental to the whole set-up. We want good, competitive cricket with lots of international players playing good, close games against one another. If they go ahead with no salary cap, a lot of that might go out the window," he said.
Ponting said the IPL would be beneficial for the game and should be given a window in the international calendar.
"I really do think they can manage it well and have the IPL as something that is going to help the game, and not just be extra money coming in for the international players," he said.
"What it has done already is attracted new audiences to the game and more audiences to the game. With more audiences, you are going to get more participation. With more participation you are going to get a stronger and better game with better players and better athletes.
"Overall it should make cricket a better thing," he said.
