Not what the doctor ordered for the Poms and the Men in Blue - Opinion
For defending champions England and 2007 victors India, ominous signs loom ahead as the fourth edition of the ICC World T20 is around the corner. It is not so much the hype of the Sri Lankan Premier League as much as the significance of the tournament in
light of the subsequent event, which might hurt both countries. No English or Indian player has been signed up by any of the 7 franchises in this year’s SLPL which starts on August 11. This very fact has implications for both teams as they head into the tournament
which starts in mid September.
56 foreign cricketers have signed up for 7 franchises which represent many districts and localities throughout the Island. The franchises have signed up almost every player from different countries besides England and India. The franchise of Uthura for example
has signed up 8 players who hail Bangladesh, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757, Pakistan and the West Indies.
In totality, most of the foreign players hail from Australia, Pakistan and the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 has had a phenomenal record in tournaments preceding
the upcoming one. As champions of the 2009 edition in England, the Pakistani players would now benefit from acclimatizing with the conditions and even given some of their new faces a go, of which many didn’t play in the recent series against Sri Lanka. Similarly,
veterans such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 would be able to gain invaluable experience ahead of the tournament.
For the Australians, their challenge would be far stiffer due to the stark differences in climatic conditions and the nature of the pitches in both http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 and Sri Lanka. For them to be ardently involved in the shortest format of the game and tackling
an array of top quality players in Sri Lankan conditions, would give them a similar advantage like Pakistan. The same is the case with the West Indies or http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Marlon-Nathaniel-Samuels-c74804, Kieron
Pollard, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Nasir-Hossain-c77146 aiming to master the rainforest climate and placid pitches to their advantage.
For India and England however, this entire development is damning to say the least. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750’s abysmal record in the shortest format has almost been a product of constant self detonation and they haven’t won anything substantive for over the past few years.
On the other hand, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 is ranked first in the ICC World T20 rankings and is bound to face a tough challenge in a country which they have historically struggled in. Dishing it out in the UK and playing on the placid pitches in the Emerald Isle are two completely
different things. Many English players have also not played in the DLF IPL of 2012, which again deprives them of an advantage of acclimatizing to conditions which are similar to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758.
In light of all this it can be safely said that India and England are significantly handicapped as compared to other teams who would have their players play in the SLPL. Now whether or not both these teams can produce something special beyond match practice,
would be their real test. Whatever is happening at the moment is definitely not what the doctor has ordered.
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