Though the longest format of the game of cricket is said to the be the most testing format for a player, the shortest format, the T20 format has been throwing new challenges at players every year.
The T20 format is not an easy game to excel in especially with new innovations and tactics regularly making the format more and more challenging.
However, some players have been able to master the art of the format and one such player opened up about the Indian domestic tournament the Indian Premier League.
In a recently posted column for The Hindu, one of the best batsmen in the world at the moment, AB de Villiers spoke about the T20 format and the Indian Premier League.
The 32-year old who has been in sensational form this season felt that the IPL has done a great job in modernizing the world of cricket in the country.
He wrote, “When people talk about the IPL, they almost always refer to the player salaries and the razzamatazz; and, in both these areas, the league has taken cricket to a new level, presenting the game in a way that has not been done before.”
The stylish batsman from South Africa heaped plenty of praises on the Indian league. He explained that the IPL has helped players from around the world interact and learn from each other and that it is a great opportunity for budding cricketers.
“What people don’t talk about, and what they may not fully appreciate, is the extraordinary impact of the IPL on our sport, specifically the information-sharing impact of gathering the world’s leading players in one league, divided among eight franchises competing over two months,” he explained.
He also went on to term the Indian Premier League as the MBA of cricket and explained that the amount of knowledge the players get during the tournament is one of the biggest advantages of the tournament.
“The experience of being surrounded by world-class players day after day, match after match, and taking the opportunity to meet them, talk to them and watch them go about their business amounts to nothing more and nothing less than a top-class education. It’s like taking an MBA in cricket,” he added.
He went on to say that he learn more during the IPL than in the rest of the year.
“I learn more during each IPL than in the other 44 weeks of the year,” De Villiers wrote.
Mr. 360 as he is called affectionately, went on to explain that players from different countries and cultures unite during the grand event and that every day in the IPL is like a gift for the youngsters.
“We come from different countries, different backgrounds, and different traditions, but we play the same game and nobody knows everything.”
“That is why, to every single player involved in this competition, every single day delivers a gilt-edged invitation to look and learn, and to improve,” the ace RCB batsman added.
He summed up the whole experience of the competition and concluded, “In tens of thousands of unreported conversations and interactions, the IPL improves us as people and enhances our game.”