Kirsten blames IPL for WT20 exit

Indian coach Gary Kirsten has blamed the Indian Premier League for causing fatigue to the Indian players as a result of which they were not physically and mentally tough enough to defend their championship at the ICC World Twenty20 2009.

The Indian Premier League, which concluded last month in South Africa, may have been an exciting tournament with some of the biggest cricketing stars from different nations playing for the same teams. The tournament saw eight teams battle it out for five weeks after which the Deccan Chargers were declared champions.

However, it was also the cause of injuries and niggles to several international players and now Indian coach Gary Kirsten has indirectly pointed out that the Indian domestic Twenty20 competition was responsible for India’s early exit from the ICC World Twenty20 2009.

Defending champions, India, won its group matches with ease but stumbled in the Super Eight stage of the tournament to West Indies and England, owing to which they now have no chance of qualifying for the semi-finals. Its game against South Africa, tonight, is a dead-rubber.

"The one thing that didn't play into our hands here is that we had a bunch of cricketers who were quite tired when they arrived," said Kirsten.

"That's not an excuse because we were aware we had a demanding schedule, but we never got to the level of intensity you need to in the international game.”

"It probably didn't help that we had two relatively low intensity (group) games against Bangladesh and Ireland but the standard of cricket and the quality of cricket has been higher than we experienced in the IPL.”

"That is a domestic competition, a club competition in many respects. While you've got international players playing in the teams, you've got first-class cricketers making up the rest.”

Kirsten feels that the level of cricket in the international arena supersedes the level of cricket being played at the IPL. Many of the players from the current Indian squad were prolific in the IPL, but failed when it mattered at the World Twenty20.

"I sense there's a reasonably big gap between what's happening at the IPL level and what's happening internationally.”

"When you are picking the best XI from each country the quality is going to go up substantially."

The former South African opener sent out a word of apology to the Indian public, who were expecting their team to come back with the same pride it did two years at the inaugural World Twenty20 when MS Dhoni and his boys scripted a fairytale victory to win the tournament, despite not starting off as favourites.

"We would like to convey to all the Indian people that we are bitterly disappointed. I saw 15 faces in the dressing room yesterday and I saw some real hurt," he said.

"We have to put up a performance against South Africa that the Indian people can be proud of."

With the next World Twenty20, in West Indies, less than a year away, Kirsten feels that India will still have a good chance of winning back its trophy from whoever clinches it this year.