Mumbai: Soon after defending champions India crashed out of the 2009 T20 World Cup in England before the semi-finals, India coach Gary Kirsten said the grueling Indian Premier League, played a few months ago in South Africa, had left his players “exhausted”.
“Go beyond boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!Kirsten stressed that if the cricket calendar continues to be very congested, players may have to be withdrawn from the Indian Premier League before the next World T20.
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Considering that MS Dhoni & Co have been on the road for a long time, Kirsten’s observation was not far from reality. However, it has also given ammunition to those who blame the Indian Premier League every time India loses on the cricket field.The South African was gagged by the BCCI after that interview in Nottingham.
Nearly 17 years on, perceptions about the Indian Premier League have changed, thanks to Team India winning back-to-back T20 World Cup titles in 2024 and 2026.In white-ball cricket, especially T20s, IPL has become India’s biggest ‘USP’.The batch that just triumphed in the T20 World Cup is essentially a generation of IPL players who grew up watching and playing in the league.Starting with captain Suryakumar Yadav, it is a team of IPL T20 specialists.
This is one of the reasons why India looked a cut above the rest of the competition, racing to score more than 250 runs three times in the tournament – twice in the knockout rounds.“It has bridged the gap between domestic and international cricket, which was not the case before. Players now understand how to adapt and execute under pressure, something that did not exist before the IPL. They now respond well to pressure and even thrive under it,” said former India spinner Siraj Bahotuli, who previously served as Rajasthan Royals’ bowling coach (2018-21 and last year) and will take up the same role with Punjab Kings in 2018. IPL-2026, he told TOI.The narrative has completely changed for speculators, Bahotoli said.“They are not playing safe cricket now. It is about being aggressive and facing the bowler. They are not worrying about who is bowling. They are watching the ball and hitting it. Every batsman has a role in the IPL. The openers know that they have to work hard in the Powerplay. In the Powerplay also, there are phases – for example the first two phases and the next two phases – and the batsmen understand how to push.”The league has certainly helped the bowlers too.“Bowling has become tougher because there are often more than 200 scores in the Indian Premier League. But he also encourages the bowlers to be innovative and brave. As you can see, Arshdeep Singh had a plan to bowl wide and stuck to it even though he bowled three or four wickets. In the end, he got a wicket,” says Bahotuli.The former player also believes that in recent years, foreign players have started learning from Indian cricketers and not the other way around.“Players like Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan express themselves fearlessly. Unlike other teams, India were comfortably reaching 250 all out. Abhishek’s attitude tells you everything about the IPL generation – these guys are not afraid of anything. They just come and attack. If you play in front of thousands in the IPL, a similar crowd in an international match won’t intimidate you,” Bahutoli said.Echoing the views, former India batsman Pravin Amre, assistant coach at Delhi Capitals from 2015 to 2024, said the league plays a big role in shaping the mood of players.“The Indian Premier League gives the players a platform where they do not feel like they are playing in the World Cup. It helps in creating the ‘character’ of the players because the pressure to win every match is immense,” Amr said.Praising the league further, Amre added, “The Indian Premier League helps build champion players. Apart from the one loss to South Africa by 76 runs, the way we were playing, other teams were not close to us at all. The Indian Premier League has contributed to that kind of dominance.”Two veteran officials of IPL franchises also told TOI that the league’s massive talent pool continues to fuel the success of Indian cricket.Satish Menon, CEO, Punjab Kings, said, “The Indian Premier League has become a funnel for talent. It is perhaps the biggest pool of cricketing talent any country can dream of. Youngsters are getting opportunities to compete against top international players, qualifying them to wear the national colors without fear.”“The world knows that Indian cricket’s success in white-ball cricket comes from the Indian Premier League. From it comes the ability to absorb pressure and thrive in intense situations. The Indian Premier League has changed the dynamics of T20 cricket,” said Arvinder Singh, Chief Operating Officer, Gujarat Titans.“When the Indian Premier League started in 2008, 160 was a winning run. Then it moved to around 175. And even that seemed hard to chase at that time. Anything more than eight runs seemed out of reach, and 10 more meant almost losing the match,” Singh said.“Now, even if you’re chasing 225, getting it down to 60 from the last four overs is doable. The players, the pitches and the courts are the same – it’s the mentality that has changed.”Linking this to India’s success in the World Cup, Singh said: “All these players know that they have done it many times in the Indian Premier League, and that is why the Indian team is not giving in to the pressure of the scoreboard.There is a lot of competition in the Indian Premier League – 74 matches, 10 teams and top players. Sometimes the bowling attack of an IPL team is stronger than that of an international team.He stressed that thanks to the Indian Premier League, India is at the forefront.
