A Second Chance In The Form Of The IPL

Fallen Indian stars are given a second chance to succeed by the Indian Premier League

©REUTERS/Mike Hutchings (SOUTH AFRICA SPORT CRICKET POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY) Picture Supplied by Action Images

The IPL is a tournament that has received mixed reaction around the cricketing world. While there are those that believe the lucrative Twenty20 competition is just the tonic the game needs to compete with other sports globally, others believe that introducing so much money to cricket is a vulgar exercise which in time could take away from International cricket as we know it.

Whatever people's views on the event, there can be no denying that the IPL has helped relaunch the careers of some of India's most experienced players, as they now find themselves once again taking centre stage.

Left arm pace bowler RP Singh looked as though he was going to be the spearhead of India's pace attack for many years to come after the way he bowled in 2007, he took a five-wicket haul in a Test match against England, as well as playing an integral part in his country historically winning that series, while he was India's main strike bowler in their victorious World Twenty20 campaign.

Poor form and a bad run of injuries however saw RP Singh lose his place in the Indian team and given that the Indians were enjoying a great deal of success with him on the sidelines and with no apparent shortage of fast bowling talent, it was becoming increasingly difficult to see how Singh would regain his place in the Indian line up.

Singh played for the Deccan Chargers in the IPL and he appeared to find his form this year as he was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, and played an instrumental part in the Chargers going all the way to lift the cup.

Singhs’s performance in the IPL led to an international recall, and he displayed his heart and courage in the last game against West Indies in Jamaica, by putting on a century partnership with his captain MS Dhoni, to at least give his team a half chance of victory.

Ashish Nehra is another beneficiary of the IPL, the Delhi born pace bowler, had not featured for India in any form of International cricket since 2005, but he was the third leading wicket taker in the IPL playing for the Delhi Daredevils, and this performance got him a recall to the ongoing ODI series against the West Indies.

The IPL is affording quality players who appeared to have fallen by the wayside a chance for a second coming, and if they are good enough to capitalise on that opportunity, then surely International cricket as a whole is going to be the beneficiary in the long run.

Aaron Kumar
© Cricket World 2009

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