Opinion IPL’s nurseries, Test cricket’s loss
T20 leagues have democratised cricket and removed several entry barriers for budding talents. The flip side is that with the focus almost exclusively on IPL and T20, the longer form of the game gets a hit.
It’s no coincidence then that India has lost two Test series at home in about a year. It says much about the affinity of the youth for the T20 format that the Chennai Super Kings decided to give up its traditional reliance on experienced players and opt for youngsters in the just-concluded IPL auction. CSK picked two uncapped players — Rajasthan’s wicketkeeper batsman Kartik Sharma and Uttar Pradesh’s all-rounder Prashant Veer — for a record Rs 14.2 crore apiece. The trend was noticeable across teams. Delhi Capitals picked J&K pacer Auqib Nabi, another player who hasn’t played international cricket, for Rs 8.4 crore
Such is the craze for the young that 20-year-old leg-spinner Izaz Sawariya, who has not even played domestic cricket but uploaded his bowling videos to Instagram, made his way to the auction. He didn’t get picked as there weren’t slots in the mini auction. But it won’t be a surprise to see him play domestic T20 leagues soon. His presence in the auction also says a lot about talent scouting for the IPL.
The domestic T20 leagues and the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament have become platforms that nourish talent for the IPL. Gone are the days when players required a long grooming period in domestic cricket. An outstanding season in a domestic T20 league is often a passport to a place in the state team — like in the case of Veer and several others, it can even catapult a cricketer into the IPL. These T20 leagues have democratised cricket and removed several entry barriers for budding talents. The flip side is that with the focus of parents and young cricketers almost exclusively on the IPL and T20, the longer form of the game gets a hit. It’s no coincidence then that India has lost two Test series at home in about a year.
Share
