The Indian Premier League is unarguably the biggest cricket league in the world, not just in terms of size but also in terms of quality and money on offer.
IPL 2022 is set to be a lengthier season with two more teams - Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans - added to the league from this year.
While IPL is a still world over, it has been blamed, every now and then, for its negative impact on international teams.
For example, this year after losing Ashes, former England players and experts argued that English players priortising IPL has led to the decline of Test cricket in England.
Indian off-spinnet R Ashwin has come out bashing such criticism in his latest episode on his YouTube channel.
He made a point that today cricketers are involved in many international events and IPL is just a part of them. There are many world events, T20 leagues and domestic leagues as well. So singling out IPL is not right.
He said ,"IPL has been under the radar for so many years now. Suddenly, some ex-cricketer will say something bad about IPL without any reason. Imagine the situation in 2008 or 2010. There were only 20-25 cricketers who would be in the Indian setup for representing Team India."
Ashwin also spoke about how Indian cricket has benefitted from IPL. He said, "Even when I started, my parents and grandparents asked me if cricket will help me to support financially. Only 15-20 or 25 cricketers will get opportunities in a 10-year span. But now, because of the IPL, at least 75-80 Indian cricketers are getting opportunities every year."
"It doesn't stop with the IPL alone. Players get opportunities to play in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and showcase their talent there as well. In addition to that, players also get opportunities in Media, coaching setup, or some other ecosystem setup that gives them opportunities. That is a massive tick for IPL."
