Which fool would value playing in IPL over India: Ravi Shastri hits back at critics after T20 WC debacle

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has hit back at critics who had slammed the Indian players for prioritising playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the national team. Shastri said none of his players ever prioritised IPL over the country or else the team's performances over the last few years wouldn't have been as good.

A few former cricketers had targeted the Indian players after their poor show in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021, claiming that they had started prioritising IPL over the national team. The comments came after India bowed out of the T20 World Cup from the group stages with three wins and two losses from five matches in the Super 12.

The majority of Indian players were in action during the second leg of IPL 2021 in the UAE and didn't get a long break post the tournament as the IPL ended on October 15 while the T20 World Cup 2021 kicked off October 17. Shastri said his players were not fools to be valuing IPL over playing for India.

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"Absolutely. No question about it, otherwise you can't have these kinds of performances over the last 5 years. If your mind is not there when playing for the country... which fool would value that (playing for the franchise) over playing for the country," Shastri was quoted as saying by India Today.

"They are playing for India, you have got that badge on your chest, watched by billions around the world. You are lucky to be one of the 11 in a country of 1.4 billion people representing your country. So that's all far-fetched, whoever says all that I have no time," he added.

Also Read:What can we say if players prioritise playing IPL over country: Kapil Dev as India bow out of T20 WC

The Indian team had a disastrous start to their T20 World Cup 2021 campaign as they suffered back-to-back defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand. Virat Kohli & Co. did win their next three matches by big margins but never really managed to get their campaign back on track as they missed out on a spot in the semi-finals.

It was Shastri's last tournament as the head coach of the Indian team as the former India all-rounder looks set to return in a new role. Shastri reportedly has offers for a return to commentary and could also join an IPL team as their head coach for the 2022 season.