The veteran New Zealand cricketer, Ross Taylor is of the opinion that postponement of the IPL “played into India’s hands”, giving Virat Kohli’s team more time to get acclimatized to English conditions before next month’s World Test Championship final. The Indian Premier League (IPL), which was suspended earlier this month due to multiple cases of COVID-19 inside its bubble, was scheduled to be concluding on May 30, while the WTC final between New Zealand and India is scheduled to start from June 18 in Southampton.
Elaborating the same, Ross Taylor said, “For India, IPL finishing early under unfortunate circumstances has probably played into their hands a little. If IPL would have gone on they would have had a smaller preparation but now they will be a lot more conditioned, their bowlers will have their loads up.”
ALSO READ: Ben Stokes Ruled Out Of the Two-match Test Series Against New Zealand
However, Taylor also believes that New Zealand will still have a slight advantage over India as they will be locking horns with England for a 2-match Test series ahead of the WTC final.
Talking about the WTC final, Ross Taylor said, “I would be lying if you think there isn’t some sort of thought about the WTC final but I couldn’t think of a better preparation than playing two Tests against England. At the end of the day, it’s a neutral venue. Playing two Tests gives us a slight advantage but this Indian team has been number one for a long period of time and has had a lot of success over here.”
Ross Taylor, who has featured in 195 Tests, 233 ODIs, and 102 T20Is for New Zealand, said most cricketers would still consider international cricket as the pinnacle.
ALSO READ: Indian women cricketers to receive the prize money of T20 World Cup 2020 this week
Elaborating the same, Ross Taylor said, “It’s changed a lot from when I started — IPL, the movement, and players. It’s a move for the good but I hope international cricket is still the pinnacle and I’m sure of it. You ask most of the international cricketers and that’s the case. I did have 35 in my mind because of the 2019 World Cup but I went there and felt I could still contribute, and therefore, I didn’t think just because it was a World Cup it was time to retire.”
