By ANI
MUMBAI: Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar reckons that the cricketing standard has increased in the country with the onset of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The bench strength of the Indian side was there for everyone to see during India’s tour of Australia as an injury-ravaged side defeated Australia 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“Oh, incredible! I don’t think there’s anything that’s made the difference; we don’t want to compare things but since the IPL has come in, I’ve been a part of the IPL — people you’ve played against, you share the dressing room with them, you can see the new guys that come in the team almost look ready. Everyone that comes in and the quality has increased, playing day-in-day-out with world-class players, sharing the dressing room with them. It has been massive! You could see the results, a couple of series wins in Australia in this time — half the team wasn’t there in the previous series; six or seven players missing due to injury,” said Agarkar on Star Sports’ show ‘Select Dugout’.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batsman Suresh Raina also made a stunning comeback as he scored a fifty in the side’s first game against Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2021.
Talking about Raina, Agarkar said: “We saw their struggle when he wasn’t there last season; he has been prolific for the 13 seasons of IPL. The one thing he brings in is a lot of experience. It’s such a high-pressure tournament and you need the experience as you go deeper in the tournament plus his runs. They (CSK) will be hoping that he still has the form that was there before.”
CSK suffered a defeat in its first game against Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2021. MS Dhoni’s side will next take on Punjab Kings on Friday at the Wankhede Stadium.
