Australian players have always been one of the star attractions in the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the years. Even in the IPL 2021 edition, the fans will see the likes of David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood, and others playing for various franchises in the tournament.
Even recently capped players like Riley Meredith and Jhye Richardson also found buyers and pretty good deals in the recent IPL 2021 auction. Hence Australia head coach Justin Langer mentioned that the IPL will be like an audition for him to check out the form of his players and mark out the best performers while shortlisting for the T20 World Cup as well.
There’s No Better Showcase For Some Of Our Players Than The IPL 2021: Justin Langer
The T20 World Cup will be played in India in October-November later this year and Justin Langer said that the IPL 2021 is the best showcase for the Australian players as they vie for a place in the team for the marquee ICC event.
“There’s no better showcase for some of our players. They’re playing in the same conditions (as the World Cup). We’ll watch that really closely and see who performs well. It’s a great opportunity for a lot of players. They get to play a lot of cricket under pressure, that can only benefit them individually and us collectively,” Langer told SEN.
Australia is yet to win a T20 World Cup, which remains the only ICC trophy missing from their cabinet. Langer noted a group of ‘five or six’ players, who weren’t part of the T20 trip to New Zealand, remain certainties to take part in the World Cup.
Australia recently lost to New Zealand in a five-T20I series 2-3, with Andrew McDonald as stand-in coach with Justin Langer taking a break. Glenn Maxwell was the most expensive Australian buy at the IPL 2021 auction, bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 14.25 crores.
Jhye Richardson got INR 14 crores from Punjab Kings, who also bought Riley Meredith for INR 8 crores. Mumbai Indians rebought Nathan Coulter-Nile for INR 5 crores, while Moises Henriques will play for Punjab Kings who bought him for INR 4.20 crores.
