New Zealand captain Kane Williamson heaped praise on the quality of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and labeled it as the biggest domestic competition in the world, given its high cricketing standards and the presence of a brilliant competition among players.
Speaking with Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube show ‘DRS with Ash’, Williamson – who would have been seen in action for the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the now-postponed IPL 2020, said other countries have started their own league after the successful IPL formula.
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The Kiwi star, who has been part of the SRH since 2015 and also captained the side in the past in the lucrative IPL, said he always wanted to take part in the IPL for the opportunity to gain and learn.
Williamson told Ashwin on Monday (June 29): “The initial interest was obviously watching the IPL and seeing how big it was, it is the biggest domestic competition, T20 cricket being relatively new, what I saw was an opportunity to gain experience and learn.”
He added, “For us, to see the passion for cricket in India is an amazing thing, it is a brilliant competition and there is a high standard, a lot of other countries have followed suit to start their leagues.”
Meanwhile, Williamson also revealed that he always kept an open mind while playing in the IPL while recalling the season when he led the SRH in the absence of David Warner last year.
The New Zealand captain further added, “It is quite different to lead New Zealand and an IPL franchise, initially I did not know what to expect, but like I mentioned it is an Indian competition so you are coming into quite a different culture, I was trying to keep an open mind, there is a lot of experience in all of the groups, it was an enjoyable season to lead the Sunrisers Hyderabad.”
He signed off by saying, “The support staff has been there at Hyderabad for a long time and they have enjoyed success, it was about maintaining the style of play that we are known for.”
Noteworthy, Williamson has so far featured in 41 games in his IPL career and scored 1,302 runs at an average of 38.29.
(With ANI Inputs)
