ICC T20 World Cup 2024: They Gain Valuable Experience - Ravichandran Ashwin On Importance Of IPL For T20 WC 2024

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin talked about the importance of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024. He said that not only India but all the other teams will gain valuable and rich experience. 

The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 will be taking place in the Caribbean and the USA in June next year. It will be the ninth edition of the event and it’ll see 20 teams and 55 matches being played. The preparations for the event are already underway and it’s fair to say that another blockbuster event will be on the fray. 

Ahead of the tournament, players of all the teams, in particular Indian cricketers will be getting a great preparation as IPL 2024 will be played two months before it. It’ll be a great opportunity for them to get into the groove and adapt to the T20 format ahead of the marquee tournament. 

Ravichandran Ashwin highlighted that Carribean pitches are quite similar to Indian pitches and when players go for the tournament after IPL, they will be having similar conditions. Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin explained: 

“(IPL experience helping overseas players in India) Many foreign professionals are coming here to play IPL every year. A minimum of 8-9 foreign players will be there for every IPL team. All these players get vital, valuable information and knowledge when they come here for IPL. 

“They are here for 3 months every year. In some practice facilities, it might turn square, and the wickets will be tough. They gain valuable and rich experience. So, when they come here [US & Caribbean] to play the T20 World Cup, literally, it won’t look like an away condition for them at all.” 

ICC T20 WC 2024: There will be valuable lessons for many cricketers from this tour – Ravichandran Ashwin On India’s T20I series loss against West Indies 

Ravichandran Ashwin further talked about India’s T20I series loss against West Indies and pointed out that it’ll be valuable learning for the Hardik Pandya-led side. He added that the lesson that India gained from the series has already been learned by the foreign players due to IPL. Ravichandran Ashwin explained: 

“On West Indian grounds, the air blows from different directions. So, there is this ‘with the wind’ and ‘against the wind’ concept. Even if you understand the concept, the opponent team will be ahead by 2-3 balls. And in T20Is, these 2-3 balls will be a massive advantage. So, there will be valuable lessons for many cricketers from this tour. 

“Whereas a foreign team because of their IPL experience, has already gained these valuable lessons. So, when a World Cup takes place in India, many teams will already come with massive knowledge. There won’t be any surprise element for them. But when there is a World Cup in West Indies, they will come with their rich experience, thanks to CPL.” 

The Indian team will be next seen in action during the three-match T20I series against Ireland, which will begin on 18th August at The Village, Malahide.