Why playing the IPL just before the ICC World Cup isn’t a great idea

In a few days from now, the entire cricket fanatic nation of India will submerge into the vibrant colors of the Indian Premiere League 2019. With marquee T20 players from across the world joining, the tournament will certainly be a treat to watch for the cricket fans - not just in India, but all over the globe.

As always, it promises to be an electrifying event that introduces some new exciting talent. And the renowned and well-established players would also, of course, waste no time in showcasing their masterful skills.

Over the years, the IPL has been partially and to some extent, very rightfully, credited for the success of Indian cricket. The mega tournament has given a lot of young Indian talents an opportunity to learn while playing against and alongside the world’s best players.

It has enabled the players to assess their cricketing skills against the requirements of the highest level, and prepare themselves better for their opportunities in the national team. Most importantly, the very competitive event have given them a glimpse of playing at the international level.

Consequently, the players have transformed into better cricketers at the end of every IPL season.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Trophy

However, this year, the tournament may actually have an adverse impact. The IPL is scheduled to end literally just 15 days prior to the commencement of the most prestigious cricketing event, the ICC World Cup 2019.

On both other occasions when the IPL and the ICC World Cup occurred in the very same year (2011 and 2015), the BCCI wisely scheduled the event after the World Cup. Unfortunately, this year, the World Cup will start right after the long and engrossing IPL tournament.

With the Australian series ending in March 2019, it would have been the perfect opportunity to give Team India some well-deserved rest after their long and very intense away tours to South Africa, UAE, Australia, England and New Zealand. Instead, the scheduling of the IPL has jeopardized the fitness of the players for the mega event later during the year.

As always, the cash-rich event will be played over a long stretch of over 50 days across India. The high intensity event will take a toll on the players' bodies - not just on the field with back to back matches, but also off the field with continuous travelling.

Virat Kohli working rigorously to build a strong team for ICC World Cup 2019

In addition, the long event could possibly cause an unfortunate injury to any key Indian player and disrupt the balance of the well-settled side.

Over the past two years, Virat Kohli and Co have worked with sincere dedication and passion towards developing a very strong team for the World Cup. Losing a player at this crunch moment will be extremely unfortunate.

Also, the IPL with its T20 format does not coincide with the 50-over ODI format of the World Cup. To make matters worse, it does not really allow well-established players to genuinely enhance their game in any substantial way. The batsmen would simply be looking to score quick runs without really applying themselves, whereas the bowlers would generally be on their defense mode to prevent heavy scoring.

Two big tournaments one after another is undoubtedly a feast for cricket lovers. However, an absorbing IPL just before the most significant cricketing event - the World Cup - certainly does not appear to be ideal preparation ground for Team India.