IPL, T20 leagues likely to show the selection pathway for T20 World Cup

With players from most Cup contenders to feature in the T20 league, bilateral games may not play a key role in the finalising of squads.

Move over long-drawn pathway programmes. Gone are the days when bilateral matches in the lead-up to a World Cup were an event before the big event. In terms of preparation, all that India had in the build-up to their run to the ODI World Cup final was two good weeks in Sri Lanka, where they played at full strength in the Asia Cup, winning the title. With less than seven months left for the next World Cup (T20), teams will have even fewer bilateral matches to prepare.

The World Cup squad as well as playing combinations would only become clearer once the next edition of IPL is under way (BCCI)

India are coming off a cramped T20 series at home against Australia and have two matches in South Africa to be followed by three more against Afghanistan at home. They are currently led by Suryakumar Yadav, one of the five skippers they have tried in the past 14 months. They still don’t know, or refuse to announce, who will walk out for the toss in June at the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the US.

It hasn’t helped that Hardik Pandya, who would call the Indian T20 side ‘his team’ last year, is still recovering from an ankle injury. The all-rounder was recently traded back to his original IPL team Mumbai Indians, which is led by Rohit Sharma – the other India captaincy contender. MI haven’t announced who their captain for the next season will be.

The World Cup squad as well as playing combinations would only become clearer once the next edition of IPL is under way. “I feel there are limited T20s going forward before the T20 World Cup, but then we play 14 league games in the IPL as well,” Yadav said last week. “So, we don’t think there will be any problem in selecting the squad because everyone knows their roles and responsibilities really well.”

If that does not feel like an ideal build-up, that’s not just the India story.

South African selectors will also be watching the T20Is against India closely. They have only three more bilateral matches to play against West Indies, much later in May. Playing the host nation (WI and USA are co-hosts) just before the World Cup is an advantage. But a possible clash with IPL may mean both teams being severely depleted, defeating the purpose of the well-timed series. South Africa also has its own franchise league, SAT20, to pick players from.

The April-May window is unofficially reserved for IPL. The best T20 players of the world will come together and give it their all. “I will play the IPL until I can’t walk anymore,” said Australia’s Glenn Maxwell. Each think tank of the competing nations in the World Cup – they are all well represented in IPL – will be watching every move.

Defending champions England might want to have more control over their preparations than leaving it on IPL. Other than the five-match series against West Indies starting Tuesday, they are playing a five-match T20I series at home in May against Pakistan. Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer - on the mend from injury – are among those to have already opted out of IPL duties. More players could be asked to end their IPL stints early as the league is close to the World Cup.

Pakistan will be playing more T2OIs than any other team in lead up to the World Cup. While the cricket world stops for IPL, they will be playing as many as 11 T20Is in May. They won’t get the same quality of opposition though. Other than England, they play three matches each against Netherlands and Ireland. Pakistan’s selectors will also be keeping an eye on performances in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), to be played in February-March. However, the overseas playing pool is nowhere as strong as IPL.

For 2021 winners Australia, squad selection will rely heavily on how their players go in T20 leagues around the world. Outside of the six T2OIs they play in the next two months, David Warner and some others will be playing parts of Big Bash, ILT20 in the UAE and the entire IPL.

West Indies’ T20 stocks have fallen sharply in the past two World Cup editions. But they are giving themselves a good chance to come better prepared. T20 globetrotter Andre Russell returns to flex his batting muscle in the upcoming T20I series against England. Although Jason Holder, Kyle Mayers and Nicholas Pooran have declined central contracts, they have confirmed availability for T2OIs.

Between the home series against England, and against South Africa in May, they also play three matches each against Australia and Pakistan. How to piece squads together by working around the various league commitments of players will remain a constant challenge.