Melbourne, November 23: Peter Roebuck has warned the upcoming Australian cricketers to beware of the temptation from the IPL and claimed that the money spinner Twenty20 tournament has taken the promise, shown by Indian youngsters, backwards.
Roebuck, a renowed cricket columnist, said the the likes of Ishant Sharma and Ravi Bopara have failed to reproduce their magic at the international level and the Indian Premier League (IPL) is to be blamed for their downfall.
The former Somerset opener further noted that the players like Brett Lee, Andrew Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen have managed to make big money in the IPL but the injuries that they suffered during the Twenty20 event, has posed serious threats to their international career.
”For that matter Ishant Sharma and Ravi Bopara have gone backwards. India cannot find any youngsters to challenge its ageing champions,” wrote Roebuck in his column for ‘The Age’. ”None of them have progressed. Some have become front-foot swipers,” he added.
”Numerous IPL players have returned with dreadful injuries, rotten form or soft brains. Playing a few 20-over games might not seem much of a commitment, but bad habits can easily set in. ”Andrew Symonds, Brett Lee, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff and Muttiah Muralitharan have all struggled to recover from their first IPL campaign. Nor has much been seen of bright sparks such as Ajantha Mendis or Shaun Marsh,” Roebuck wrote.
Roebuck claimed that the amount of T20 matches that the youngsters are being exposed to has ruined their technique and hardly offers any scope to learn the nuances of the game.
But he pointed that a tournament like IPL is better suited for retired cricketers and the ignored ones who have a point or two to prove.
”Already Moises Henriques and David Warner have been snapped up by IPL franchises. Warner has played one Shield match and 36 Twenty20 games.
”It’s not much of a way to learn about concentration and technique.
”Through no fault of his own he’s been removed from the tried and trusted way that has served Australian cricket so well. In his case, Australia was partly to blame. In their anxiety to freshen their team, the selectors distorted the picture.
”IPL suits older players on the way out and neglected cricketers anxious to make a mark and a dollar.”
——Agencies