Team India had a dismal outing in T20 World Cup 2021 that took place in the UAE and Oman. The Men in Blues, who were the title contenders being the host of the event failed to qualify for the knockouts.
Pakistani legend Wasim Akram has put forward has thus put forward his thoughts on India’s outing in the mega event. He reckoned that the team should be allowed to play other leagues around the world to get the experience of different conditions.
“When you play leagues in different countries – one or two, I’m not saying play every league – at least your players get the experience to play against the other bowlers, different pitches, different teams, different conditions. So I think they (India) have to think back… IPL is the number 1 league, yes, money-wise, talent-wise but they have to allow the players at least one or two more leagues worldwide,” Akram said in a video uploaded by Sports360.
Incidentally, the BCCI has a rule that if you have to play in any other leagues or tournament you can’t play in any BCCI affiliated tournament. A cricketer needs to first take retirement from international and domestic tournaments including the IPL to be eligible to play in any other leagues. Pravin Tambe was picked by KKR in the 2020 auction but was not allowed to play because he had played in the T10 league before.
After Shaheen Afridi’s first over, they never could recover – Wasim Akram
Team India lost the opening match against arch-rivals Pakistan. Shaheen Afridi ran down India’s batting with a brilliant spell before Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam’s superlative show ended India’s unbeaten run against Pakistan in T20 World Cups.
According to Wasim Akram, the Men in Blue wasn’t able to recover and turn things around after the first match. The former cricketer added:
“They were the favorites to win the World Cup. And I suppose after the first game… especially Shaheen Afridi’s first over, they never could recover. Then you see, there were a lot of talks about they concentrate on the IPL a lot more.”
After losing to Pakistan by 10 wickets, Team India suffered another horrendous defeat to New Zealand. Though India won against Afghanistan, Scotland, and Namibia, it wasn’t enough to reach the knockouts.
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