IPL experience will boost India’s chances in England

The IPL has enjoyed another successful season featuring numerous nail-biting last-over finishes. In its eleventh season the IPL has certainly not lost, and if anything, only gained in lustre.

In addition to the financial benefits the IPL has brought Indian cricket, the league has had a positive effect on playing standards. Since the advent of the IPL, Indian teams are more confident and aggressive in their approach and nowhere does this better show up than in their fielding.

The overseas influence on Indian cricket through IPL has resulted in a more combative national team, confident against any opposition. There’s nothing like playing with and against international stars on a regular basis to help young players discover that despite their great skill these lauded individuals are still vulnerable to a good delivery or capable of bowling the odd bad ball.

The young Indian cricketers who once grew up revering players from teams like Australia, England and the West Indies have been replaced by those who idolise the likes of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. Indian cricket is now at a point where there is serious competition for places in all the national teams and it’s a matter of perform or perish. Gone are the days when a player — selected to play in a Test against Australian tearaway Jeff Thomson — exclaimed; “Why me?”

Or the times when rather than wanting to compete at the highest level, the ambition of some young Indian tourists went no further than attaining a cap and blazer to proudly display to their friends back home. India is now the envy of the cricket world when it comes to producing skilful young batsmen. It’s going to be an interesting clash when India meet England later this year; while the tourists are spoilt for batting choices the hosts are stumbling from one top-order collapse to another.

There was a time when an Indian tour would’ve been warmly greeted by England batsmen as an opportunity to find form. With India now producing not only bowlers of pace but those who are also seam savvy, they’ll relish the opportunity to cause further disarray among England’s top-order.

This highly anticipated clash will also be one of diverging cricketing cultures. While India is riding high on the back of IPL riches and success, England is trying to forge a path like a blind man wielding a white stick. The next addition to an England summer schedule that already resembles a game of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey is a 100-ball competition that has the backing of few outside an administrative clique.

While there appears to be great uncertainty among players surrounding this competition, there can be no doubt that the scattergun approach to England’s domestic cricket schedule is having an unsettling effect on the country’s batting prospects.

The fragile England batting will be further tested by Kohli’s captaincy, which features a strong desire to seek victory from the outset. Kohli is also challenging his own players to produce their best in tight situations. The fact that the Indian players are now constantly facing dramatic close finishes in front of big crowds at IPL matches has helped to hasten this learning process in the international arena.

India can be thankful for the high-profile IPL and the positive influence it’s had on the national team. This extremely successful venture could be about to pay even bigger dividends in the UK.