IPL 2018: Virat Kohli Believes England is an Explosive T20 Side
Apr 17, 2018 at 3:26 PM
Since the early exit from the 2015 World Cup, England have completely transformed their limited-overs side and have become a reckoning force in the shorter format of the game. They reached the semi-final stage of the ICC Champions Trophy at their home and have won six of the seven bilateral series at home since the World Cup.
England side has been a powerful side in the shortest format of the game, which is also one of the most unpredictable formats as they have won three of their last seven bilateral series.
Moreover, they also finished as runners-up in the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup held in India.
The Eoin Morgan-led side has certainly stamped their authority over the rest of the teams in the recent times.
However, the credit for this success in white-ball cricket should also be given to Indian Premier League (IPL).
English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and English players earlier hesitated to participate in the IPL but the trend has changed now.
Interestingly, a number of English players have started playing in the IPL and other T20 leagues around the world. Ben Stokes, an English player was the costliest player in the IPL auctions, two consecutive times.
Chris Woakes, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali are some of the England players featuring in the ongoing eleventh edition of IPL.
India captain Virat Kohli, believes that English cricket has come a long way in the limited overs format.
He said, “I think it is because of how they play their T20 cricket. The last couple of years, right from the T20 World Cup, they have been an explosive T20 side. People are sharpening their skills according to the format, and these are some of the best T20 players in the world right now. So you get picked in the IPL.”
Woakes and Ali, are Kohli’s teammates at Bangalore, and the captain acknowledged their role in the team.
“They are top guys. They are really optimistic and are helpful for the RCB team culture. It is good to have good people around,” Kohli said.
David Willey, Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Alex Hales, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Jason Roy and Liam Plunkett are the other English players in the IPL.
Jofra Archer is still waiting to qualify to play internationals for England.