Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh believes that the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 is a hurdle in India’s preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 which will be played in the United States and West Indies from June 1.
The ongoing IPL 2024 will conclude on May 26, just five days before the World Cup begins and Harbhajan, who was part of India’s World Cup-winning squad in 2007, believes that the scheduling of IPL has made it difficult for the Blues to train before the mega event.
Recently, all of England’s players who were participating in the IPL flew back to the country to participate in the upcoming four-match T20I series against Pakistan, which would be their last outing before the World Cup.
Harbhajan believed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should adopt the same plan as of England Cricket Board (ECB) to make sure that the team gets much-needed practice before the World Cup.
“I think with this IPL scheduling, it is so difficult to have everyone together to play a few matches. But yes, we have two games in America before the tournament starts,” Harbhajan Singh told the Hindustan Times.
“Yes, I believe it would have been better for them to have 4–5 games, you know collectively playing against some top team like England or Australia in America, just to get used to those conditions. But that doesn't seem to be happening,” he added.
The former Indian great then suggested that before playing tournaments as big as the World Cup, a team should get to practice together for 10-15 days.
“But now, whatever small window we have, those two games, we have to make the best use of it. Going forward, it is a great suggestion. When you are playing a tournament like the World Cup or WTC, the team should play together for 10–15 days, it will be better,” he added.
- Harbhajan Singh