The IPL Paradox

I am a keen follower of cricket and hence the IPL interests and intrigues me. One of the most intriguing aspect of the IPL is its impact, or lack thereof, on the fortunes of the Indian International T20 team, especially at the T20 World Cup. Despite IPL being miles ahead of any other T20 domestic competition, India has not won the T20 world cup since the IPL started.

The lack of results in the T20 World Cup may not be surprising after all. EPL is the most lucrative football league currently but England has not been a major contender for the FIFA world cup as far as I can remember. So, a similar scenario for India in the T20 World Cup may not be surprising. However, one major difference between EPL and IPL is the number of foreign players. While there is no cap on the number of foreign players playing in a match in EPL, there can be a maximum of 4 foreign players playing in a match in the IPL. And if recent history is anything to go by, more and more teams are having less than 4 foreign players in the Playing 11.

Hence, if the quality of Indian players is not the issue then what explains the absence of silverware for the world's richest T20 international team? Historically, there has been a strong correlation between resources and success in sports. So is it just a matter of sustained bad luck for the Indian team in the T20 World Cup? Or are there more structural reasons? I would lean towards the second explanation and identify at least three reasons:

  1. Ban on Indian Players in other T20 leagues: The T20 league era has coincided with unprecedented mobility for cricketers across leagues and countries. Unfortunately, Indian players have not been able to make use of this mobility as the BCCI has virtually banned active Indian players from playing in other leagues. This move, ostensibly a part of player load management, actually aims to protect the commercial interests of IPL by reducing the interest of Indian consumers in other leagues. However, the flip side is that the Indian team members fail to develop adequate knowledge of pitches and playing conditions in other countries. They are also less aware of emerging talent in other countries.
  2. Player-Role misfit: T20 cricket is more role-based and players' importance is increasingly tied to their ability to perform a specific role/set of roles rather than the generic quality of skills. In most IPL teams, foreign players tend to play important roles like that of Finisher, and hence there is a dearth of Indian talent for those roles. The deep pockets of IPL teams ensure that they can buy players for specific roles and hence dissuades them from trying to make players who fulfill specific roles. On the other hand, there is an excess of talent for roles like wicketkeeper-batsmen. This lack of congruence between the number of players and the number of roles in making the international team less than the sum of its parts.
  3. Absence of a T20 Philosophy: The commercial demands of IPL have hampered the growth of the development of a strategy for international T20 games. Often, the Indian team had to rush into the T20 World Cup just after the IPL. Unlike the Caribbean style or English style or Pakistani style, there is no Indian style of playing T20. The absence of style and strategy reduces the scope of synergies.

In short, I believe that there are structural reasons which explain the lack of a relationship between the strength of IPL and the absence of silverware in the T20 world cup for the Indian team. If the international game is the priority for BCCI, as it claims, it should allow interested Indian players to play in foreign leagues. The captain and coach need to zero in on a T20 strategy and select players accordingly. The Syed Mushtaq trophy should be used to identify the best players for specific roles. If IPL franchises do not use Indian players for some roles, good performers in the Syed Mushtaq trophy can be selected directly to the Indian team even if they have not played the IPL. I believe that these changes, if made in earnest, can end the drought of India in T20 World Cups.

Abhinav Iyer

OD Specialist | Talent Management | Learning & Development | Change Management | Org Design | People Matters-Are You In the List Winner 2015 | Intel, WIPRO, Right Management, Mahindra, Essec, XIMB

2 年

Your conclusion may change if you drew up a list of non structural causes. E. G. Captaincy, team selection or randomness. We did reach the 2014 final and lost in the semi finals to a better west Indies

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