Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar critically assesses the Indian Premier League’s influence on the national team’s T20I performance, urging selectors to prioritise players suited for challenging overseas conditions amidst recent defeats.
IMAGE: India’s Suryansh Shedge walks after losing his wicket in the 5th T20I against England on Saturday. Shedge was one of the breakout domestic players at IPL 2026. Photograph: Cat Goryn/Action Images via Reuters
Key Points
- Sanjay Manjrekar attributes India’s recent T20I losses to issues within the IPL.
- He urges selectors to choose players based on their suitability for overseas conditions, not just IPL performance.
- The IPL is criticised for batting-friendly pitches and promoting power-hitting over traditional stroke-making.
- The ‘Impact Player’ rule is also blamed for hindering the development of quality all-rounders.
- India faced significant T20I defeats against Ireland and England, marking their first series loss in three years.
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar said instead of blaming the players for the T20I debacle, attention should be on addressing issues in the IPL, while selectors should pick players without the “IPL make-up” as India will play a lot of cricket overseas. The defending champions endured a forgettable tour, losing 0-2 to Ireland before suffering a 0-4 drubbing at the hands of England in the five-match T20I series, with the opening match being washed out. It was India’s first T20I series or tournament defeat in three years.
Manjrekar’s Critique Of IPL’s Influence
“The easy thing would be is to hold players responsible for this overseas T20 setback. The right thing would be is to hold those responsible who have made IPL such, that it puts a heavy make up on Indian batters,” Manjrekar wrote on ‘X’. “Challenge is for the selectors to imagine Indian batters without the heavy IPL make up on & pick only those for India. A lot of T20 cricket will be overseas now. The home fun run is over.”Following the T20 series, India will play three ODIs in England, followed by the Zimbabwe tour for a three-match T20I series starting from July 23. The defending champions will also tour New Zealand in October-November for a series, comprising five T20s and five ODIs besides two Tests.
IPL’s Structural Issues And Player Development
The IPL has often been criticised for offering batting-friendly pitches with limited assistance for bowlers, encouraging power-hitting over traditional stroke-making. Critics have also argued that smaller boundaries and batting-friendly conditions encourage a power-hitting approach at the expense of building an innings, particularly when the ball moves in overseas conditions. The impact player rule has also been criticised for hindering the growth of quality allrounder as teams routinely substitute a specialist batter for a specialist bowler. Former wicketkeeper batter Parthiv Patel also recently blamed the IPL’s “Impact Player” rule for the all-rounder crisis.
