Indian Premier League (IPL) is the flagship T20 league in the world. Players from all around the world speak highly about the league and are always eager to be part of the IPL. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson also praised the level of cricket played in the IPL.
Williamson who has played a lot of years in the T20 league reckons that it is the biggest domestic competition in the world. He also shared that when he got the chance to be part of the league he only saw an opportunity to gain experience and learn from. In a recent chat with India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, the New Zealand captain talked in detail about the IPL.
IPL produces high standards of cricket – Kane Williamson
“The initial interest was obviously watching the IPL and seeing how big it was, it is the biggest domestic competition, T20 cricket being relatively new, what I saw was an opportunity to gain experience and learn”.
“For us, to see the passion for cricket in India is an amazing thing, it is a brilliant competition and there is a high standard, a lot of other countries have followed suit to start their leagues”, Williamson told Ravichandran Ashwin on YouTube show titled ‘DRS with Ash’.
Kane Williamson led Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018 in the absence of David Warner. Williamson shared how much he enjoyed leading his franchise side last year and how was it different from leading his national side.
“It is quite different to lead New Zealand and an IPL franchise. Initially, I did not know what to expect, but like I mentioned it is an Indian competition so you are coming into quite a different culture. I was trying to keep an open mind. There is a lot of experience in all of the groups, it was an enjoyable season to lead the SunRisers Hyderabad”.
“The support staff have been there at Hyderabad for a long time and they have enjoyed success, it was about maintaining the style of play that we are known for”, said Williamson.
Overall in his IPL career, Williamson has scored 1302 runs in 41 matches across 5 seasons in the league. Earlier this year the SRH franchise again named David Warner the skipper of the side who was their winning captain in the 2016 campaign. BCCI has currently postponed IPL 2020 owing to COVID-19, but it can take place later.
