Australia mull window for IPL-style domestic tourney

Cricket Australia is planning to create a window for its Indian Premier League-style Inter-State Twenty20 Championship in the annual calendar to ensure participation of star players from the Test and one-day fold.

"A 37 per cent jump in KFC Big Bash inter-state Twenty20 TV ratings this week shows that ambitious plans for the format's expansion as an Aussie-style IPL are well-founded," Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said.

"Our long-term planning has a way to go but I could see the time come when the KFC Big Bash has its own summer time window so that we can bolster it even further by having our Test and ODI players available for inter-state Twenty20 duties," he added.

Sutherland said the strong performances by New South Wales and Victoria in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 against winning sides from the IPL, and equivalent contests in England, South Africa has added to the growing interest around domestic T20 events.

NSW won CLT20's lucrative prize-money and Victoria was a semi-finalist when the event was played in India in October.

The finalists in this summer's KFC Big Bash will automatically qualify for the next CLT20 and a chance to contest its USD 12 million prize-money.