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Cricket: IPL postponement to help India prepare better for WTC final, reckons Ross Taylor

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, India Updated: May 25, 2021, 12:41 PM IST
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A file photo of Ross Taylor. Photograph:(Twitter)

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'For India, IPL finishing early under unfortunate circumstances has probably played into their hands a little': Ross Taylor

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 was indefinitely postponed under unfortunate circumstances but many feel that the Indian cricket team will, as a result, be better prepared for the ICC World Test Championship final. New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor has echoed the same sentiment as he said the pause could be beneficial for India ahead of the World Test Championship final.

"For India, IPL finishing early under unfortunate circumstances has probably played into their hands a little. If IPL would have gone on they would have had a smaller preparation but now they will be a lot more conditioned, their bowlers will have their loads up," Taylor explained on the sidelines of a practice session.

Taylor feels New Zealand will in any case enjoy a slight upper hand over India as it plays two Tests against England in the approach the WTC last. 

"I would be lying if you think there isn't some sort of thought about the WTC final but I couldn't think of a better preparation than playing two Tests against England. At the end of the day, it's a neutral venue," the veteran batsman said.

"Playing two Tests gives us a slight advantage but this Indian team has been number one for a long period of time and has had a lot of success over here" - he added.

Ross Taylor nailed the hypothesis when he spoke essentially about the bowlers. The bowling department, containing Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Umesh Yadav has seen some of them be a functioning part of the IPL for their individual franchises. The burden on the bowlers will be one of the greater difficulties considering there is a sum of six Tests that will be played in testing English conditions.

With the IPL presently deferred, the players get a short however valuable slow time of year that can help them rest and plan for their impending visit. The other benefit that India has is an ideal opportunity to adjust to the conditions. Changing from the more limited-overs implies making acclimations to their bowling to Test lines and lengths.

Team India will take off from Mumbai on June 2 and will undergo a brief quarantine phase upon landing in England.

Talks between BCCI and ECB have been going on and since most Indian players are now in the bio-secure bubble in Mumbai the isolate wouldn't be a hard one for every one of the 10 days regardless of India being in the red list of the UK government because of the rising number of Covid-19 cases.