IPL 2018: 3 ways in which IPL has benefited global cricket

#2 Overseas players get exposure to and experience in subcontinent conditions

One of the biggest issues which cricketing sides from countries such as Australia, England, and South Africa have always struggled with is their inability to adapt and cope with subcontinent conditions.

It is a weakness which these sides have accepted and work on improving over the past few years. To their credit, there have been players who have developed over the years and learned how to adapt to conditions in the subcontinent. One only needs to think about players such as AB de Villiers and Steven Smith as two examples of players who have learned to adapt their game to subcontinent conditions.

Before the IPL, getting exposure to subcontinent conditions would require teams to actually tour the subcontinent with their national side. The IPL now allows players an annual opportunity of playing in the subcontinent for roughly six weeks - something which has given rise to a tremendous improvement in the way in which touring sides play when they come over to India.

The benefit has not only been for the batsmen but for the bowlers as well. Fast bowlers have learned to adjust their line and length when bowling on Indian pitches, the quality of spinners from overseas countries has improved drastically over the years and young bowlers are getting valuable experience bowling on pitches which are different to what they are usually accustomed to.

In an interview with Times of India back in 2016, Eoin Morgan spoke about the way in which the IPL had helped him improve his game. When asked about how he had benefited from the IPL, the English batsman had this to say:

"The IPL has helped my game in a huge way. The first 2-3 years I came to the IPL, I saw my game improve immensely. Rubbing shoulders with the best players in the field, you gain a huge amount of confidence training alongside them, playing with them and seeking advice from them. I was lucky to play with the likes of Jacques Kallis, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and had the opportunity of watching them closely as they went about their business. As a youngster making his way into international cricket, it was a quite a big thing for me."