Is IPL hurting Indian cricket?

[Sachin=GOD]

This is a sad state of affairs.

[Karan114]

Forget the players. We have had a 3 match series changed to a 2 test only series (SA vs Aus), back to back 7-8 Ranji Games (no wonder so many domestic pacers are injured or do not bowl at their optimum pace), a shortened version of Duleep Trophy (when it should be played on a round robin basis as the level of competition is higher and helps us identiyf the key talent for the next level). It has already squeezed our domestic season to November-Feb (they waste nearly a month playing a domestic t20 competition which serves no purpose). When the board itself doesn't care, expecting all the players to still prioritize first class cricket is a wrong expectation.

Can't even blame the players. If the selectors start picking players for the national team based on IPL performances, why would these players want to toil for 4 days?

Spot on. The tamasha league is the no.1 priority over real cricket for the BCCI, so why should the players bother when they can earn several times as much money for a fraction of the work needed to play FC cricket.

[mishra]

If we go by this rate I think its about time we start understanding baseball rule....

[ganeshran]

Test selection should strictly be based on FC performance. But I dont see any harm in using IPL performances as one factor in LOI selections - not that it should be the sole criteria

[Chandan]

Here is an article in Hindustan Times. Most of the cricket articles in these papers are rubbish these days but I'm quoting this article here: A different ball game altogether Kaushik Chatterji, Hindustan Times Chandigarh, April 23, 2012 One comes from Gujarat but represents Haryana in the Ranji Trophy; the other hails from the national capital. Both picked 28 wickets in the last season of the premier domestic competition; soon after, they were picked up by different IPL franchises. The twain met 25 games into the season, at Mohali. Having bowled a miserly spell against Pune at the venue, Delhi boy Parvinder Awana, who was also the highest wicket-taker in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, was given a second shot by Punjab. Bangalore, struggling to find a domestic pacer, persisted with Harshal Patel despite his previous expensive returns. In the end, Patel failed to get his line right, and even though Awana struck thrice early in the visitors' chase, he proved ineffective against Chris Gayle until it was too late. Wickets in first class and List A matches of 2011/12 taken together, Awana was second only to Ashok Dinda, the wiry Bengal pacer who has been a revelation for Pune. Other than Dinda and, to a certain extent, Awana, it is tough to put a finger on a leading domestic bowler who carried that form into the IPL. In his only match for Deccan Chargers, the Madhya Pradesh Ranji paceman TP Sudhindra was blasted into oblivion; Rajasthan pacer Pankaj Singh has proved expensive, as has RCB spinner KP Appanna. These performances belie the “downward compatibility” theory, that someone who has the skills needed for duration cricket can automatically scale it down. Temperament aside —playing in front of big crowds can be unnerving even for the most skilled of the lot —Bangalore bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad feels it is mostly a question of adaptability: “It’s all about the mindset, and how quickly you adapt to the format.” The former India pacer, who had an effective slower ball in his repertoire, says bowlers need to use variations sparingly in T20, to maintain the element of surprise. “There’s a tendency of trying to do too much,” says Prasad. “Bowlers need to be smart, not oversmart. As it is, the margin of error is very less in T20s, so instead of trying to change the line and length with every delivery and constantly experimenting with the slow bouncers and the wide yorkers, they should stick to basics and bowl to their strengths.” Batting for a chance While the bowlers can still blame T20’s bias towards the blade, the batsmen don’t really have any excuse. The top domestic run-getters, though, have had to contend with a different problem — lack of faith. Purists insist that strong fundamentals, so essential in Tests, can be put to use to score quickly in the shortest version too. “To see how conventional cricket also works in IPL, one needs to go back a couple of seasons and see how Sachin fared,” says former India opener WV Raman. But franchises are clearly putting their money on the big-hitters, which explains why someone like Vineet Saxena, despite having nearly 900 runs against his name, missed out on an IPL contract due to a strike rate of below 40; or why Ranji chart-topper Robin Bist is warming Delhi's benches. Again, one has to make the most of an opportunity. Suryakumar Yadav, who scored heavily for Mumbai, got his shot when Tendulkar got injured. But in his only innings for MI, Yadav fell for a fourth-ball duck. Lack of bowlers are evident in domestic circle. And who is to blame for that? Of course as IPL as domestic season has been squeezed and bowlers are bowled to draw the matches rather than win it as is clear from the so few victories and also the reluctance for state skippers to go for victories. That is why India is producing such a few number of strike bowlers as containment is enough for IPL. Where will it take India international cricket, especially test cricket? Guys like Awana have no place in IPL because despite taking 3, they were expensive in the sole death over! Great attitude no? What does it tell Awana?

[jairamesh]

^^^ stupid article, Picking one-off match failures to justify the players as useless in T20 is rather amateur writing. How do you expect Suryakumar Yadav and Robin Bist to play regularly when their batting line-ups are filled with international stars. This is where the lower ranked team should get to pick the top youngsters. Teams like Punjab and Deccan could do with the likes Suryakumar and Robin Bist, or Harshal Patel, Kulkarni, Abu Nechim. The very uneven distribution of young talent is what the issue is. All the rich teams have the top international players and the best youngsters. IPL is tuning into a mafia club.

[Crookbond]

T20 requires a different skill set, simple.

[Chandan]

T20 requires a different skill set' date=' simple.[/quote'] No. It doesn't. If the basics are intact, you can succeed in any format. Just read this: Special players recognise that basics donÃÕ change With the Indian Premier League now into its third week, the battle lines between those that love and abhor it couldn't be any more clearly drawn. One group, with the stated aim of 'preserving' Test cricket no one seems sure how makes almost a fetish out of ignoring the IPL. They will happily announce how they were up till 3am watching Test cricket from the West Indies, while ignoring the 'manufactured' last-ball finish in the late IPL game. The other group considers the five-day game pass? like a 78rpm record in an iPod world. This lot insists that modern life has no time or place for the unique rhythms of Test cricket, that its followers are those stuck in a time warp. Both arguments can be amusing to the subset that watches every form of the game. Like George Bush's with-us-or-against-us doctrine, the extremist viewpoints are devoid of nuance and shades of grey. The best assessments usually comes from senior players, those that grew up aspiring to play Test cricket and then saw the Twenty20 juggernaut gather steam in the autumn of their careers. Rahul Dravid admits that he's unlikely to remember any of his T20 innings in the way that he will his 180 at Eden Gardens or the 233 at the Adelaide Oval. At the same time, he says that playing the shortest form of the game allowed him to work on his repertoire of strokes and become comfortable with those that he might not have attempted otherwise. One of the best innings that he played in the final phase of his international career was at Ahmedabad in 2009 against Sri Lanka. Chanaka Welegedera had run through the top order and it was Dravid's 177 that laid the foundation for a total that allowed India to escape with a draw. Late on that first morning, Sri Lanka brought on Rangana Herath. Dravid smashed the final ball of his first over past the sightscreen for six. The inability of some IPL stars to adapt to other forms of the game has often been cited by its critics as evidence that it adds little to the game. There are several examples. Swapnil Asnodkar, the Goa Cannon if you went by Shane Warne's nomenclature stopped booming many moons ago. Manpreet Gony hardly gets any game time with the Deccan Chargers and has little chance of adding to his two India caps. Manish Pandey scored the first IPL century by an Indian in 2009 and enjoyed an outstanding domestic season a few months later. Since then, he has regressed and is rarely mentioned as an international prospect. Lucrative IPL contracts are again blamed for such a state of affairs. But when it comes to such things, there can be no absolutes. Whether a player succeeds or fails is ultimately down to him. His IPL contract or the Mercedes convertible that the franchise gifted him has little to do with it. Virat Kohli is the Indian face of Royal Challengers Bangalore, and they certainly don't pay him peanuts. But the riches and fame haven't dimmed his desire an iota when it comes to playing for India. In the final analysis, it's all about that one word desire. If Pandey doesn't make it, it'll be because he just doesn't want it as badly as Kohli does. As for Kohli, he'd be a star regardless of whether he plays Tests, ODIs, T20 or gully cricket. The special players recognise that the basics don't change. So guys like Sachin, Pietersen, Sehwag, Gambhir, Hussey , Steyn, Zaheer, Lee, Murali etc... did they acquire different set of skills when the format was launched?

[saneindian]

Wonder why there is so much slamming of poor Manish Pandey in the media. Yes he's struggled in the IPL so far, but his domestic performances have been quite good despite the IPL riches. He got injured at the start of the season that finished. Post his comeback though he has lost his batting form. Can happen to any player. He is only 22, one good domestic season could still him see him in contention for an India A spot again. On IPL hurting Indian cricket, I would say more than IPL it's the useless champions league which is hurting us. It eats nearly a month from our domestic season, precious time which if added to our season would mean more gap between the domestic first class matches, giving the players especially more time to recover between matches.

[rkt.india]

Wonder why there is so much slamming of poor Manish Pandey in the media. Yes he's struggled in the IPL so far, but his domestic performances have been quite good despite the IPL riches. He got injured at the start of the season that finished. Post his comeback though he has lost his batting form. Can happen to any player. He is only 22, one good domestic season could still him see him in contention for an India A spot again. On IPL hurting Indian cricket, I would say more than IPL it's the useless champions league which is hurting us. It eats nearly a month from our domestic season, precious time which if added to our season would mean more gap between the domestic first class matches, giving the players especially more time to recover between matches.

His last FC season which halted by hernia surgery. How it is bad. At once people talk about why IPL is the only criteria to judge and select a player and on the other hand they say Pandey has regressed because he is not doing well in IPL. What Irony!:hatsoff: MK Pandey 3 4 2 268 200* 134.00 345 77.68

[bulbul]

Manish pandey except for the Century and 40+ in semi in 2009 didnt done any thign in IPL..but his domestic form for Karnataka is exceptional..he should have stayed with :rcb: though

[Crookbond]

No. It doesn't. If the basics are intact' date=' you can succeed in any format. Just read this: Special players recognise that basics donÃÕ change

Chandan, I never argued against changing basics. They indeed do remain same but you also require a different skill set. There are many Test + ODI batsmen not performing well in T20. On the contrary you see certain T20 specialists who aren't performing well in the other formats. All this leads me to believe that despite the basics being intact there are some skill sets which are essential in T20, which won't be a deal breaker in other formats of cricket.

[bulbul]

Chandan' date=' I never argued against changing basics. They indeed do remain same but you also require a different skill set. There are many Test + ODI batsmen not performing well in T20. On the contrary you see certain T20 specialists who aren't performing well in the other formats. All this leads me to believe that despite the basics being intact there are some skill sets which are essential in T20, which won't be a deal breaker in other formats of cricket.[/quote'] Main problem with T20 you ahve to maintain a good SR..so it cant afford 2 tuk tuk [in context of t20] players in a innings...which ODI and tests can easily afford..

[mishra]

Main problem with T20 you ahve to maintain a good SR..so it cant afford 2 tuk tuk [in context of t20] players in a innings...which ODI and tests can easily afford..

You hit a regular classic drive or improvise to hit a ball which should have been left alone. A good T20 player should be ablle to play his shot all around the wicket. Also people confuse T20 performance of a batsman vs say his odi performance. I belive discrepancies arise because more than half the bowlers a T20 batsmen faces are trundlers. Once bowling quality improves in T20 there wont be much difference in odi cricket and T20 scoring

[bulbul]

You hit a regular classic drive or improvise to hit a ball which should have been left alone. A good T20 player should be ablle to play his shot all around the wicket. Also people confuse T20 performance of a batsman vs say his odi performance. I belive discrepancies arise because more than half the bowlers a T20 batsmen faces are trundlers. Once bowling quality improves in T20 there wont be much difference in odi cricket and T20 scoring

Still you wont get much time to settle in T20 even if your team lost quick wickets [may be some pitches] but in odi you will get enough time say 25/30 balls...in T20 you get max 5/10 even that will cost your team some time

[Crookbond]

Main problem with T20 you ahve to maintain a good SR..so it cant afford 2 tuk tuk [in context of t20] players in a innings...which ODI and tests can easily afford..

Same can be said of bowlers too. Also, slow fielders may not fit well into the format. Ultimate IMHO we have to acknowledge that T20 is here to stay and it may require some different kind of skills. I don't think the notion of - "If you perform well in Test cricket, you can also perform well in any other form" - will stay. It may change. In fact, I believe it's already changing.

[mishra]

Same can be said of bowlers too. Also' date=' slow fielders may not fit well into the format. Ultimate IMHO we have to acknowledge that T20 is here to stay and it may require some different kind of skills. I don't think the notion of - "If you perform well in Test cricket, you can also perform well in any other form" - will stay. It may change. In fact, I believe it's already changing.[/quote'] Test cricket: you have to know very well how to leave most of the balls and how to play on backfoot. T20: You have to know how not to leave a ball ( other word how to improvise)and how to play predominantly on front foot. Hence someone like Hayden will be success in Tests odi and T20 while Trott will have to work For bowlers 4-6 consecutive dot balls will definitely lead a wicket.

[Magneto]

IPL is definitely hurting some geriatrics who are too slow to understand what all complicated things are going on in the field.

[Crookbond]

IPL is definitely hurting some geriatrics who are too slow to understand what all complicated things are going on in the field.

Sourav Ganguly? :winky:

[Shanal]

Some of the reasons I feel that it is pretty unhealthy for Indian cricket are.... 1) India has consistently played utmost pathetic cricket in important tournaments held within a few months after the IPL. a) ICC World Twenty20, 2009 - Won both their games in the First Round against the smaller teams of Ireland and Bangladesh. But when they were pitted against the better teams in their Second Round, lost ALL their games against RSA, WI & Eng. b) ICC Champions Trophy, 2009 - Knocked out after the First Stage. c) ICC World Twenty20, 2010 - Won both their games in the First Round against the Afghanistan & RSA. But in their Second Round, lost ALL their games against Aus, SL & WI. d) Indian Tour of England, 2011 - Don't want to expand on it, as everyone must be very well aware of how we were demolished, and the coveted World Number 1 was ripped away from us. Note:- I'm not blaming IPL for all those losses, just have a feeling that IPL had played a major role along with several other factors. I just hope this doesn't happen in the T20 WC 2012. :nervous: 2) Top Indian Cricketers attitude towards IPL. In this day of Indian Cricket, International Cricket has taken a back seat, and IPL is the most important tournament for any Indian cricketer. The prime example of this is Sehwag (my favourite Indian player). In the year 2011, Sehwag showed how much important it was for him to represent Delhi in IPL, than India in International cricket. He had some problems with his shoulders, and the doctor whom he consulted advised him to not take part in the IPL, and undergo the surgery instead. But how could Sehwag miss the most important tournament in World Cricket? He chose to not undergo the surgery, and planned to undergo it after the IPL, when he must have known that India had full tours to WI & Eng just after the IPL. The consequence of not undergoing the shoulder surgery on time, was he was unfit for the WI series, and just managed to play two tests in the England tour. Had he placed India ahead of Delhi, he might have taken part in the entire England tour, and may be in the WI tour as well. Apart from this disappointing act, Sehwag has consistently given tournaments held after the IPL a miss due to injuries. Tournaments deserving mention are: ICC World Twenty20, 2009, ICC Champions Trophy, 2009 & ICC World Twenty20, 2010. Next up, Sachin Tendulkar (my second favourite Indian player). The level of respect he commands from me and the rest of the Indians is just unexplainable in words. But I'm always left a l'il disappointed after seeing him participating in the IPL. Sachin has not been a major part of the Indian ODI team, as he continuously chooses to take rest from several ODI series on account of his age. I don't blame him for that, as at his age, and the effort which he has already put in, he deserves some good amount of rest. But when his body needs rest, why is he wasting his super-precious stamina on some tournament which runs for two months at a stretch with about 18 games being played during this period of time. He is only harming his stamina and body with it. I would have loved to see him taking rest from IPL, as he does in several ODI tournaments, and then continue to perform at the top-level as he has been doing in the past 22 years. I do accept that Sachin has every right to do what he thinks best, and he certainly knows better than all of us, but anyways its MY opinion. 3) The shocking amount of injuries. IPL to me is THE best place to get yourself injured. On second thoughts, it might be second best after the Spanish Bullfighting events. The tournaments which I have already mentioned above did not have the best Indian XI in most cases in the team. In almost all of them, top 4-5 Indian players were missing. Regular missers were Sehwag, Gambhir, Zaheer, Ishant, Nehra and other big Indian names. 4) The months of April and May which were earlier used by the team to rest and recuperate, is now being used to play 18 matches of super-fast cricket. I just don't know what will happen to these cricketers in the long-run, if they keep exploiting their bodies like this. When is the time to rest??? Is this the reason what has made 'young' Dhoni to start thinking about his retirement already? I think all these problems could be solved if BCCI decides to be a little less money-minded and makes IPL a one-month tournament. A one-month IPL with about 8-10 matches per team would be perfect for cricketer's health and for spectator's entertainment. But I fear it might not be as healthy for BCCI pockets, which is why I believe they will continue to ignore the above problems and continue minting money with its money-minting machine, The IPL. PS: I'm not an IPL hater, rather I'm an avid :kkr: supporter.