"Because of the IPL, it looks like so many of them are doing well" - Ravichandran Ashwin on India's talent pool
Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin recently spoke about Team India having a big talent pool because of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The comments came during a discussion on his YouTube channel when a fellow colleague asked if India can form multiple teams with the abundance of talent they have.
He opined that it appears that because of the cash-rich league, there are a lot of players knocking on the selectors' door. He, however, emphasized that not just India but other countries too are in a similar situation, citing Australia's Big Bash League (BBL) as an example.
"India have so many talents at the moment," Ashwin said. "Because of the IPL, it looks like so many of them are doing well. But that might just be some people's perception. If you take the BBL, there are so many people who are doing well in that tournament as well.
"The likes of Cameron Bancroft, Jordan Silk and Josh Phillippe have done really well. So, they can also say, 'include him, include him', and so and so. But that's not the point."
Notably, Ashwin is currently enjoying his time off from the game. He is set to return to action with the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. The four-match home Test series between the two cricketing giants kicks off in Nagpur on February 9.
"These domestic leagues are just domestic tournaments" - Ravichandran Ashwin
Elaborating more on the T20 leagues, Ravichandran Ashwin suggested that those competitions should just be seen as domestic tournaments. He claimed that these leagues aren't the ideal parameter to judge a player.
The 36-year-old mentioned that apart from a cricketer's performances in such leagues, it is also important to see how he fares in first-class cricket. He added:
"These domestic leagues are just domestic tournaments. It will give recognition. After that, you should watch these players and see their run in first-class cricket. International cricket is an on-and-on going process. Telling that one player would have performed better than another player is just hindsight."
Ashwin has featured in the IPL since the 2009 season. He was retained by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of last year's mini-auction and will represent the franchise in the forthcoming edition.