The Indian Cricket League (ICL) gets under way today. In other circumstances, I would be taking part, but I opted to join the Indian Premier League (IPL) next spring instead. There are lots of capital letters in those sentences, but the bottom line is that Twenty20 will hit the game’s largest market in a big way over the months ahead.

Both leagues give wonderful opportunities to professional cricketers and I think it is right that players should have the freedom to play in whichever of them they wish to. Although the ICL is yet to be given official blessing, I hope that players are not penalised or banned from other competitions.

Cricketers have to earn a living and the bills do not stop coming through the letterbox at the end of a season. It is wrong that honest men such as Paul Nixon, Darren Maddy and many others with good reputations may be punished for simply accepting very good offers to ply their trade. The ICL has been described as a breakaway and a rebel league, yet comparisons to World Series Cricket in the late-Seventies do not stand up.

It will be interesting to see how the ICL works, whether the crowds give their support and how the facilities stand up. But, however popular it proves, I cannot imagine a big split in the game.

I have learnt a bit about World Series over the years from talking to guys such as Ian Chappell, who has had a big influence on me, Dennis Lillee and Tony Greig. I am friends with the Packer family and Austin Robertson, who has been my manager, was among the leading lights in getting World Series off the ground and making it a success.

Those games were hard fought and deserve the same status as Test matches. The cricket was fantastic and helped to set the agenda for the decades ahead. We all owe a lot to Kerry Packer and that generation of players. In fact, I think it is because of the legacy of World Series that the ICL will not cause the same divisions.

Back then, boards were making money without giving players a fair share. These days, the balance is a lot more even. Wages should still increase as more and more money comes in from television and sponsors. But the fact that most present Test players have not joined the ICL shows that things are OK.

I spoke to both leagues before deciding to go for the IPL, but there are some really good players and friends involved in the ICL. It was a personal choice. Whatever my allegiance, I hope that the ICL now produces great cricket. When you cut through everything else, that is what draws new people to the game.

My decision was swung by the chance to be an ambassador for the IPL. Since retiring as a player back home, I have been working for Cricket Australia along broadly similar lines, passing on knowledge from all those years in the international arena, helping spin bowlers and talking about areas such as captaincy at state level.

From there, it seemed logical to go with the establishment. Yes, you may need to read that again. I can’t deny that I’ve had a few run-ins with the powers that be over the years. But this feels like the right way to give something back to the game, even though I was offered double the money to join the ICL.

The IPL has already caught the imagination in India. Last I heard, there were as many as 73 franchise owners bidding to run up to 12 teams. I guess the most exciting part will be the Champions League-style tournament to follow next October. It would be amazing if Victoria and Hampshire could meet in the final.

I should say that the IPL will not impinge deeply into the English calendar and my final season at Hampshire, when I really want to lift a trophy. At the moment it looks as though I will be required in India for the last week of March and the first two weeks of April, but precise dates are not set in stone.

Clearly this is new ground for cricket. Exciting, too. At the moment, for example, I know only that I will be playing, but not which team I will represent. I am also unsure whether I will be captain or simply in the ranks. All of this has to be negotiated with the franchise owners.

My role as ambassador is to promote the IPL. I think that with some of those who have signed, the thrill of the 20-over format and passion for the game in India, it will end up promoting itself. Remember the joyous scenes when India won the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa in September.

I have always thought that Twenty20 is a great game for players and spectators. The reason for opting out at Hampshire has simply been to get a break during the long season and open up a place for a youngster to play under the pressure of bigger crowds. It is fun and – whatever the politics – that is what cricket must be about.