T20 World Cup 2022: "One thing that will help the England players is that a lot of them have played the IPL" - Nasser Hussain on Jos Buttler and Co. adjusting to the atmosphere

Former batter Nasser Hussain feels that playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the years will help the England players settle in quickly to the inevitable riveting atmosphere at the Adelaide Oval during their T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final encounter against India on Thursday, November 10.

The majority of the current England squad ply their trade in the IPL for various franchises.

Senior players like Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, and Moeen Ali have credible IPL experience under their belt and have witnessed sold-out crowds and a deafening experience almost every other day.

Noting that all of the experiences in the subcontinent will help England when they take the field to take on India in a sold-out Adelaide Oval, Hussain said on Sky Sports Cricket:

"That is a factor as well. In the Sri Lanka game, a little bit towards the end, when they were playing really well, you felt the pressure of a knockout game. Now here, with SKY and Virat just smashing it all around the park, suddenly you realize the occasion. One thing that will help the England players is that a lot of them have played the IPL."

Huge venues in Australia have only seen sold-out matches primarily involving subcontinent teams. A huge attendance was expected for the storied clash between the Ashes rivals, but that encounter at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was washed out entirely.

While the Indian Premier League (IPL) has not been able to directly include fans with the game on a consistent basis for a while now, seasoned players have a taste of the experience having played in the pre-COVID era.

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"It has been India and Pakistan who have driven the crowds in this tournament" - Michael Atherton claims that England players have felt the campaign to be flat so far

With three major subcontinent sides being slotted into Group 2 of the Super 12 stage, the crowds for the group encounters have been immense, to say the least.

Despite hosts Australia being in the other group, they have not quite been able to draw such massive crowds to sell out their venues.

Revealing that the upcoming semi-final clash against India will be the first time England players will get the 'big-match' feeling, former skipper Michael Atherton said during the same interaction:

"I think this is the first time England players have got the sense of occasion in this World Cup. Speaking to one or two of them, they have felt it has been flat for a number of reasons, the rain and also England have not been in the group with India and Pakistan. It has been India and Pakistan who have driven the crowds in this tournament."

Noting that the atmosphere at the Adelaide Oval on match-day will just be electric with Indian flags flying around the stands, Hussain said:

"At the moment, the Adelaide Oval is just the calm before the storm because it is going to be a sea of blue. It will be a great atmosphere, it's a good pitch, it's a used pitch and two brilliant sides. It's going to be a cracker and in T20 cricket, you just do not know."

India faced Bangladesh at the Adelaide Oval and unsurprisingly, the rain-curtailed encounter was a sold-out one.

Will the players' IPL experience help them against India in the semis? Let us know what you think.