Want to see IPL happen just for sake of young cricketers, opines L Sivaramakrishnan

06/16/2020

L Sivaramakrishnan has opined that he would love to see the 13th edition of the IPL go ahead just for the sake of young cricketers, for whom the tournament would present a great opportunity to learn. The former leggie further believes that skilled bowlers will find their way around the saliva ban.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a screeching halt to the hopes of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) taking place and, almost two months past the original scheduled start date of the tournament, the chances of the competition taking place still looks bleak.

While the cancellation of the tournament would do irreparable financial damage to the BCCI, one aspect of the IPL that is often ignored is the platform it provides for the younger cricketers in the country to hone their skills and develop themselves, due to them getting ample time to spend with the best players in the world.

Former Indian spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, who is now a renowned commentator, has opined that he hopes for the IPL to take place just for the sake of younger cricketers, who would miss out on a lot should the tournament get cancelled. Sivaramakrishnan has further added that hosting the IPL in a September-October window would also do the players a world of good with respect to their readiness for the World T20.

“The young generation is being forgotten. We have seen a lot of talent that played IPL and T20 internationals for India. So I am quite keen for IPL to happen just for the sake of seeking some new talent,” Sivaramakrishnan told TOI.

“And also with the mind that we will have IPL in September or October and IPL again in April, May. We will prepare all the cricketers who take part in the IPL much better for the two T20 World Cups. IPL is the best conducted T20 league and it should happen in September-October and it should also happen again in April-May (2021).”

A wily craftsman with the ball during his playing days, Sivaramakrishnan had an interesting take on the saliva ban imposed by the ICC. The 54-year-old expressed that skilful bowlers will definitely adapt and find a way around the ban, but opined that it would be the unskilled bowlers who would come up with excuses once the sport restarts with the newly-imposed regulations.

“They had to take this precautionary measure because of the Covid-19 situation. But skilled bowlers will always find a way to get the wickets and unskilled bowlers will always find excuses.

“As far as spinners are concerned, there should not be much of a problem, when the ball is rough you get better grip of the ball. So I don't think it will hamper the spinners too much.

“It is only for the fast bowlers that it might affect reverse swing. Even in reverse swing they can use the sweat and make one side of the ball heavy and try and see if the ball reverses.”

Earlier this year, the 54-year-old narrowly missed out on being named the Chief Selector of the Indian national team.