IPL had quality from the start, event in South Africa put the final seal of approval: Shastri
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New Delhi : Former India coach Ravi Shastri believes the Indian Premier League (IPL) had quality from the beginning but the 2009 event in South Africa took it to the next level and generated interest in the tournament overseas. The second IPL was held in South Africa due to general elections in India. IPL started 15 years ago on this day and Shastri was part of the governing council of the league then.
Recalling the early days of IPL, he said, “If you look at all the players who participated, the quality of cricket was so good that this league took off. But the final stamp on it was when it was organized in South Africa. The interest in the IPL in South Africa was the same as it was in India, which surprised the cricket world. “Shastri said,” By that time cricket fans around the world had started choosing their favorite teams. What you used to see in football back then started happening in the IPL from the second season onwards. ,
He said, “The English Premier League has been going on for years with teams like Arsenal and Manchester United but within two years in the IPL, people started picking Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings or Royal Challengers Bangalore as their favourites. Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum played a blistering inning of 158 off 75 balls against RCB in the inaugural IPL match in 2008 for Kolkata Knight Riders. Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja spoke about how his experience changed from being a part of the winning Rajasthan Royals team in 2008 to being a part of the multiple-winning Chennai Super Kings team.
Jadeja said, “2008 was the first year of IPL and there was a lot of excitement about it. We under-19 players used to think about Indian team players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh etc. going to be a part of this IPL. So I was very excited to think of which team I would be a part of.” He added, “But Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2018 was an emotional moment for us as our team was making a comeback after two years. Fans were also eagerly waiting for Chennai Super Kings to return and play at Chepauk Stadium.
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