Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir believes that the IPL has become more challenging and competitive than international T20 cricket due to the high influx of talent.

Former Indian cricketer and KKR coach Gautam Gambhir highlighted the transformative impact of the IPL on the cricketing landscape. In a conversation with Ravichandran Ashwin, Gambhir emphasized how the IPL has evolved to outshine international T20 cricket in competitiveness.

Gambhir reflected on the early years of the IPL, where facing domestic bowlers seemed easier than international counterparts. As the league progressed, the rise in standards made IPL matches more demanding for players, surpassing the intensity of international T20 contests.

“In my first couple of years in the IPL, I thought international cricket was far more tougher than franchise cricket. But, today when I look back, at the latter half of my career in franchise cricket, franchise T20 cricket, especially the IPL, became much tougher than international T20 formats,” said Gambhir when speaking in ‘Kutti Stories with Ash’.

“If you see in the first 3-4 years when you play an international game, you were facing just 5-6 top-quality bowlers. But, when it came to the IPL, in the first couple of years when the standard was not as good as it is now, you could always target 2-3 domestic bowlers. For a batter, it was far more easier to get runs in franchise cricket than in international cricket then,” he added.

READ ALSO | BCCI Eyes Gautam Gambhir to Take Over as India’s Head Coach After Rahul Dravid | Reports

Gautam Gambhir also attributed the growing imbalance to the Indian cricket team’s dominance in shorter formats, especially with the IPL opening doors for domestic players to excel internationally. He highlighted the lack of competition in international T20 sides compared to India and emphasized the IPL’s heightened competitiveness.

“Today when I look at international T20 sides, apart from 2-3 teams, I don’t see enough competition when it comes to playing for India. Not many teams can match the quality that India has. So, I feel that in today’s day and age, IPL has become far more competitive than international T20 cricket. Just the quality of the domestic players has changed. Just the way domestic players want to play in the IPL, and the way they work around T20 cricket. I think most of their focus is on playing T20 cricket,” the former cricketer concluded.

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Last Updated on May 20, 2024

Senior Sports Copywriter