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India coach Gary Kirsten blames IPL for early exit from World Twenty20 |
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India`s national cricket team coach Gary Kirsten has blamed the cash-rich Indian Premier League for his team`s expulsion from the World Twenty20, pointing that it had left the players tired.
India, who won the inaugural T20 Worlds in South Africa two years ago, lost both their Super Eight matches to the West Indies and hosts England to be knocked out before the semi-finals.
Kirsten, the former South African opener, said that his team was physically and mentally unprepared to defend the title because the cricketers were involved in the IPL.
He also did not rule out asking his main players to withdraw from next year`s edition of the IPL in March so that they will be fresh for the next World Twenty20 in the Caribbean in April.
Before the last Super Eights match against South Africa at Trent Bridge later on Tuesday
Kirsten said, "We had a lot of players with niggles coming into this tournament. A lot of those niggles were picked up during the IPL. We lose contact with our players during the IPL because they are connected to and responsible to their franchises."
He added, "The players take a lot of pride in playing for their franchises, but the bottom line is the amount of cricket did not play into our hands. The next World Twenty20 is only something like nine months away and we are keen to start setting up our plans and strategies. We got it wrong in this tournament and we need to go forward from that."
The Indian cricket board-supported IPL was held in South Africa in April-May after the Indian government expressed inability to provide security because the tournament clashed with parliamentary elections.
The five-week IPL is contested by eight franchises, owned by tycoons and Bollywood stars, who bought the world`s leading cricketers for huge amounts.
Kirsten said that Indian players should consider resting from the IPL, which he described as a `club competition` whose standards were lower than the T20 Worlds. However, there was no immediate reaction from the Indian board on Kirsten`s outburst against the IPL.
(Posted on : 16/06/2009)
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| India coach Gary Kirsten blames IPL for early exit from World Twenty20 |
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