Is Big Money IPL Destroying Indian Cricket?

image-lisjt194Siraj alongside Rohit [AP Photos]

*Trigger Warning*: This piece may get uncomfortable for the avid IPL lovers. The piece is written by a die-hard Indian fan, and has questioned the team management, the players and the big money IPL that has ruined the Indian cricket.

Let us go back to September 6, 2021. India had just conquered fortress Oval against the mighty England team and had taken a 2-1 lead in the 5-match Test series. The next Test match at Manchester was supposed to start four days later, but the Indian team decided to call-off the tour. The reason - COVID-19 had hit the Indian camp.

Two days before the historic Oval Test, the then Indian coach, Ravi Shastri had launched his new book in London, at an event where no mask was worn and no COVID-19 rules were being followed. Four days later, the deadly virus caught him and Shastri had to miss the fourth Test and was isolated from the rest of the squad.

He was castigated for spreading the virus in the Indian camp as several team members, including physiotherapist Yogesh Parmar caught the virus. A few days later, the Incredible Premier League was about to begin and the fear was that the Indian side will miss the fifth Test because of the IPL. And guess what, that's exactly what happened.

Despite the negative COVID results in the Indian camp, the players decided to abandon the fifth Test in favour of the IPL. The question arised - Was IPL the reason why Indian players left England midway? Wasn't COVID just a getaway?

Of course, IPL can't be entirely blamed for India's WTC Final loss at the hands of Australia, but it is one of the major reasons as to why the Indian team has lacked the cutting-edge to win crucial tournaments. Yes, you get big bucks to play in the IPL, yes it finds amazing Indian talents and nurtures them to achieve great things, but as of late, things have taken a bad turn when it comes to IPL and Indian cricket.

The World Test Championship finalists were decided in March first week, and both the teams, India and Australia had loads and loads of time to prepare themselves for the upcoming WTC final. While the Indian players, were sweating it hard in the IPL, the Australian players pulled out of the coveted cash-rich league and took a break to refresh their minds and body and devised tactics to counter the Indian threat.

The Indian players, who were eliminated from the IPL playoffs, reached the England shores 13 days before the Championship final. Moreover, the players who participated in the IPL final, reached England just a couple of days before the mega event. The body needs to be recharged after a hectic IPL, but the Indian players had no time to do that.

In the post-match press conference after a humiliating loss against Australia, Rohit Sharma stated:

"Ideally, yes, event like this, final like this, you need a lot of time to prepare yourself and that is what we did last time when we were here in England in 2021. We had a good 20-25 days to prepare and everyone saw the result , we were 2-1 up until the 5th Test was called-off."

Rohit's statement contradicts the popular belief in the Indian camp that players won't skip IPL for important international events. Ideally the players, who were part of the Indian team for WTC final, should have entirely skipped the IPL, or should have left mid-way. 

Why is Australia a world beater? Because their players- Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins prioritize international cricket. Why is England doing so well as of late? Because they even take a one-off Test against Ireland seriously.

India need a complete rejig, and it has to start with the IPL. The BCCI, the players, the team management need to sort their priorities ahead of the next WTC cycle, which is about to commence next month.

The difference between India and Australia could be summed up with a simple sentence - India came to England to play the WTC final, whereas Australia came to England to win the WTC final.