Major sports tend to run on parallel tracks — one for nation-teams like at the Olympics or World Cups, and the other for club and non-nation competitions. The latter is becoming more popular. Formula One, the fourth most watched sport in the world was ahead of the curve, competition being between cars and mixed teams rather than based on countries ever since its inception in 1950.
Perhaps all sports tend to move towards such mixed teams, aspiring, like the IPL, to rid sport of jingoism and waving of national flags. This is not a planned, thought-out strategy, merely one that has evolved. Playing for the country is still the highest aspiration for many young cricketers, but players are coming through who might be happier if their careers began and ended with the various T20 franchises.
