MUMBAI: Soon after defending champions India were knocked out of the 2009 T20 World Cup in England before the semi-finals, then India head coach Gary Kirsten said the dreadful IPL held in South Africa a few months earlier had left his players “exhausted”.“Go beyond limits with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!Kirsten asserted that if the cricket calendar continues to be as full as it is, players may have to pull out of the IPL before the next World T20.
Considering that MS Dhoni and Co. had been on the road for quite some time, Kristen’s observation was not accurate. However, it also gave ammunition to those who blame the IPL every time India loses on the cricket field.After this presser in Nottingham, the BCCI caught the South African player.Almost 17 years later, perceptions of the IPL have changed, thanks to Team India winning back-to-back titles in the 2024 and 2026 T20 World Cups.In white-ball cricket, especially in T20, IPL has become India’s biggest ‘USP’.The batch that just made it to the T20 World Cup is essentially the IPL generation of players who have grown up watching and playing the league.Starting with the captain Surya Kumar YadavThis is a team of IPL T20 experts.That’s one of the reasons why India looked so short of the rest, running up scores of 250-plus three times in the tournament — twice in the knockouts.“It has bridged the gap between domestic and international cricket, which was not the case earlier. Players now understand how to adapt and act under pressure, which was lacking before the IPL, they now respond well to pressure and thrive under it,” said former India leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutole, who was earlier a spin bowling coach. Rajasthan Royals (2018-21 and last year) and will play the same role with Punjab Kings in IPL 2026, told TOI.Bahotole said the narrative has completely changed for the batsmen.“They don’t play safe cricket anymore. It’s about being aggressive and taking on the bowler. They don’t worry about who’s bowling. They see the ball and hit it. Every batsman has a role in the IPL. Openers know they have to go hard in the powerplay. Even in the powerplay, there are phases – how to understand the first two overs and the next two batsmen.”Of course, the league has helped the bowlers too.“Bowling has become difficult because IPL scores are often 200-plus. But it also encourages bowlers to be innovative and fearless. As you see, Arsdeep Singh had a plan to bowl wide yorkers and stuck to it even though he bowled three or four wides. Eventually, he got a wicket,” says Bahotole.The former tweeter also believes that overseas players have started learning from Indian cricketers in recent years“Players like Abhishek Sharma and others Ishan Kishan Express fearlessly. Unlike other teams, India were comfortably building a total of 250. Abhishek’s attitude tells you everything about the IPL generation – these guys fear nothing. They just come and attack. If you have played in front of thousands of people in the IPL, similar crowds in an international game don’t scare you,” said Bahutole.Echoing these sentiments, former India batsman Parveen Amre, assistant coach of Delhi Capitals from 2015-24, said the league plays a huge role in shaping the players’ mindset.“The IPL gives the players a platform where they don’t feel like they are playing in the World Cup. It helps players build their ‘characters’ as the pressure to win every game is huge,” said Amre.Further praising the league, Amre added, “The IPL helps produce champion players. Apart from a 76-run loss to South Africa, the way we were playing, other teams were nowhere near us. The IPL has contributed to such dominance.”Two long-term officials of IPL franchises also told TOI that the league’s vast talent pool is fueling the success of Indian cricket.“The IPL has become a hotbed of talent. It is perhaps the biggest cricketing talent pool any country can dream of. Youngsters get opportunities to compete in top international competitions, which prepare them to wear the national colors without fear,” said Punjab Kings CEO Satish Menon.“The world knows that Indian cricket’s success in white-ball cricket comes from the IPL. The ability to absorb pressure and thrive in extreme situations comes from that. The IPL has changed the dynamics of T20 cricket,” Gujarat Titans COO Arvinder Singh said.“When the IPL started in 2008, 160 was a winning score. Then it went around 175. Even then it was difficult to chase. Anything above eight runs in an over seemed out of reach, and 10 overs meant the match was almost lost,” said Singh.“Now, even if you’re chasing 225, getting it to 60 in the last four overs is considered viable. The players, the pitch and the stadium are the same – that mentality has changed.”Linking it to India’s World Cup success, Singh said, “All these players know that they have done it many times in the IPL, which is why the Indian team does not buckle under scoreboard pressure.IPL has a lot of competition – 74 matches, 10 teams and top players. Sometimes the bowling attack of an IPL team is stronger than that of an international team.Because of the IPL, India is ahead of the curve,” he asserted.
