England wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow said the upcoming 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 will be a great opportunity for the players around the world to get the experience of playing at different grounds before turning up in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in India.
Claiming the upcoming IPL 2021 is going to be an interesting competition, the English opener feels the players will be certainly benefited by playing in the T20 league as they will get similar conditions in the T20 World Cup 2021 to be held in India in October-November.
He further added that the upcoming IPL 14 starting April 9 will put the players in a “good frame of mind” going into the T20 World Cup in India later this year.
Bairstow, who is currently playing in the ongoing three-match ODI series against India, will turn up for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2021, where the SRH will kick start their campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai on 11 April.
Bairstow said during a virtual press conference on Wednesday: “It will be a great opportunity to play at different grounds that we could potentially be playing in the T20 World Cup. Also to see how different teams will go about bowling in those conditions.
Because, naturally with the dimension of the grounds and also wickets, it varies how attacks go about defending totals and batsmen go about setting them, so it will be an interesting competition.”
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He further explained, “Obviously playing over here, it was new ground, it was a lot of learning but the games that we have got in IPL will be in Chennai. However, the acclimatization in India, whether it would be to the conditions or weather or in general will hopefully help.
But nothing can be taken for guaranteed, we know the quality of the competition, and quality of the opposition...to be a part of the IPL, if you can come and do well in that hopefully then leading up to the World Cup, can only put in a good frame of mind because we have quite a few players playing in that.”
Meanwhile, Bairstow, who scored a 66-ball 94 in the first ODI, said England’s game plan was good but they lost key moments in the game and eventually suffered a 66-run defeat at the hands of India.
The 31-year-old added, “To get ourselves in a situation and ahead of the game, we would have liked to get over the line. Everyone has gone back last night hurt; it is not a good feeling to lose a game. Our game plan has been very good in the last four years. I don't think even yesterday we did a huge amount of wrong. There were key periods where we didn't capitalize on; we lost the key moments in the game.”
He believes that England’s recent failures in India are another “building block” for the World Champions to prepare for the T20 World Cup 2021.
The wicket-keeper further explained, “I think it is another building block towards that (T20 World Cup), we have spoken about building blocks ahead of 2019 World Cup, putting ourselves in different situations and come out better players and it will test us again.
We are missing a few guys and it is an opportunity for people to play in different roles and also implement the skills that the players who are rested have within the team... You need to have the options.”
About life in a bio-secure bubble, Bairstow said: “It is very difficult ... from January 2nd till now it has been just 10 days that I was home. In September when we went into the bubble at Manchester, up until Christmas, obviously there was a couple of weeks off till January.”
The Englishman continued, “So it is tough being away and people are going to need rest. It is not easy just turning up and playing cricket. Living at a certain floor of the hotel, not able to leave the hotel ... being away from families is tough and the break that people are getting through the winter has been important for people's mental and physical health.”
Bairstow signed off by saying about England's rotation policy, “We all know the amount of cricket that is coming up, we are only 7 months away from World Cup and back of that is Ashes and then West Indies tour next winter, and that's without mentioning anything about English summer, so it is not easy thing scheduling when people will need a slight break.”
(With PTI Inputs)
