Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan and veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik recently talked about how playing in the Indian Premier League each year helps the player (and the team) to perform well in the shortest format of the game.
Recently, speaking exclusively on Star Sports’ show ‘Class of 2007’, Irfan Pathan and Dinesh Karthik, who were a part of the Indian cricket team’s world cup 2007 winning squad ruled out the difference between the current Indian cricket team and MS Dhoni-led team that won the T20 World Cup.
Irfan Pathan talked about the immense expectations that the current Indian cricket team is carrying as compared to the Indian team of the 2007 T20 WC under the leadership of MS Dhoni.
He also admitted that the 2007 WC squad had no experience of T20 cricket, whereas a current lot of players have played enough T20 games that they now understand how to handle the challenge of expectations. He said:
“It’s completely different in terms of handling pressure, but one thing is very different today to what it was in 2007 is the fact that they have plenty of IPL experience and they have played in high-pressure games, and they have played in matches which are – when it comes to pressure, it’s second to none,”
He added:
“But now, things are different, people play IPL, they play a lot of T20 games and there are a lot of conversations around the T20 format. In 2007, there was no social media, but now there is social media, so there are a lot of conversations around performances and memes. I think the boys know that there are a lot of expectations from them and they know how to handle it,”
Echoing his words, veteran Team India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, explained that the current members of the Indian squad have got enough exposure by playing in the Indian Premier League. He also said that the Indian team can handle the pressure well and this is what makes them different from the 2007 team. He said:
“It’s completely different in terms of handling pressure, but one thing is very different today to what it was in 2007 is the fact that they have plenty of IPL experience and they have played in high-pressure games, and they have played in matches which are – when it comes to pressure, it’s second to none,”
