Many Indian players want to play in 'The Hundred' & other leagues, claims Eoin Morgan

New Delhi:England's white ball captain Eoin Morgan has claimed a 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 based T20 tournaments around the world.

The Hundred, England cricket board's experimental competition, was supposed to start last year in England. However, the franchise-based 100-ball cricket tournament was postponed until 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic.

'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 told 'Sky Sports' during an interaction but did not take any names.

'They love travelling and experiencing new conditions and cultures, and they would add huge value to a tournament like that,' he added.

Morgan, who leads Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, also mentioned that the game isn't changing and accommodating the pace at which it is growing and forcing top cricketers to choose a lucrative private league career over international cricket.

'My biggest worry is that the game isn't changing and accommodating the pace at which it is growing.

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,' Morgan told former England skipper Nasser Hussain during the chat.

Morgan cautioned ICC that in a another decade's time, the franchise leagues will take over international cricket and urged them to have a roadmap for the next 10 years.

'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,' he said.

According to Morgan, the mistake that the administrators of the game have made is not segregating the three formats properly.

'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 analysed.

'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,' he added.(UNI)