The lucrative Indian Premier League is bringing cricket to a standstill globally, but some nations are pushing back

As the calendar turns to April, as cricket in the southern hemisphere gives way to different football codes, the lucrative Indian Premier League takes over.

Major cricketing nations are essentially forced to shut down for two months to accommodate the increasingly cash-rich IPL, which received $6 billion in media rights last year. It’s the second-richest contract on a per-game basis in all of sports.

The world’s top players are lured to the eight-week tournament with huge pay packages of more than a million dollars. It means that national governing bodies – such as Australia and England – have to accept the fact that they cannot schedule series during this period.

Since 2008, the IPL has gradually expanded as investment in the cricket-crazy country overtakes China as the world’s most populous.

The long-term strategy of the all-powerful governing body for cricket in India (BBCI), according to sources, is to stretch the tournament for up to six months, akin to the NBA, which essentially transcends basketball.

Whether the IPL can ever capture the hearts and minds of global cricket fans is questionable given its lack of relevance outside of South Asia and the country-vs-country traditions of the sport – although that is at risk given the domestic T20 leagues that have the IPL footprint, birth.

While the IPL is the Indian governing body’s main cash cow – and a significant source of reward for those involved – it is a hindrance to many of the smaller cricketing nations, whose players are largely overlooked.

While the Pakistanis – the elephant in the room – are banned due to ongoing political differences between the warring foes. Pakistani players have not been allowed to compete since the first edition in 2008 in a travesty that is hardly studied enough.

Discussions have begun in Pakistan and smaller full members on how to ensure their countries can at least play each other during the IPL, with powerhouses India, Australia and England effectively sidelined.

Zimbabwe chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani has formed a task force along with New Zealand’s Martin Sneddon and England’s Martin Darlow to review matches in international cricket.

Mukuhlani has naturally been exploring ways to get more matches for long-neglected Zimbabwe, who have not played a Test match against India, Australia or England since 2006.

Star all-rounder Sikandar Raza, making his debut at the age of just 36, was selected for the IPL. Only three other Zimbabweans have played in the competition, now in its 16th edition.

Mukuhlani has proposed annual triangular or quadrangular white-ball series in April-May for countries with limited or no players in the IPL. The countries could be Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and eventually it was hoped to catch up with the annual matches.

As usual, mirroring the sport itself, things are likely to move slowly on this front with the Future Tours program already at full capacity. Mukuhlani hopes teams touring close to South Africa can make stopovers in neglected Zimbabwe to attract teams, particularly coveted England, who previously did not play them due to political differences.

But that proved too difficult to arrange at short notice earlier in the year when England toured South Africa for a short ODI series, and a drought-breaking series between Zimbabwe and England looks a long way off.

While Mukuhlani and his counterparts from cricketing nations of similar size strategize, the second season of the IPL is well under way under the bright lights that will grab cricketing headlines for some time to come.