Sydney, November 12:

A day after returning from an acrimonious and dramatic Test series loss to India, Australia captain Ricky Ponting warned of the dangers posed to the game by a preoccupation with Twenty20 cricket.

Ponting said the money on offer in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) and other emerging Twenty20 tournaments threatened the future of national teams. “We cannot afford to lose teams such as New Zealand and the West Indies, but my fear is that this could happen if the game cannot strike a balance between Tests and the IPL’s riches,” Ponting wrote in his 2008 Captain’s Diary, launched today.

“Unless such a balance can be achieved, I could see some countries’ cricket teams declining in the way Zimbabwe’s sides have struggled over the past few years.” Bangladesh is already in tatters after 14 of their contracted players quit to form a team in the rebel ICL competition in India.

Sri Lanka’s leading players were under pressure to choose between a national tour of England next northern summer or playing in the IPL. And in the Caribbean, 11 players selected for the West Indies All Star team pocketed $1 million each for winning the recent one-off match against England in the Stanford Super Series.

“The best cricketers want to keep representing their country, but if it’s going to be costing them money then there are tough decisions ahead,” Ponting wrote. Ponting himslef is contracted to the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. New Zealand have players in the IPL, but their bigger problem is those contracted to the ICL who are banned from international cricket for signing with the non-sanctioned league.

“If the IPL keeps growing... the next generation might opt for franchise over country. Everyone in the game should work towards ensuring that never happens.”