Kirsten blames IPL for India's debacle

NOTTINGHAM : A bitterly disappointed coach Gary Kirsten has blamed "the timing of Indian Premier League" for India's debacle in the Twenty20 World Cup here and hinted at skipping the IPL to be ready for the next edition in 2010.

Kirsten said the fatigue factor and injuries sustained by the players in IPL were the main reasons for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team's early exit.

"A lot of our cricketers carried niggles in this tournament. We picked up niggles in the IPL and lost contact with them," Kirsten told reporters here.

"India's schedule ahead of the next Twenty20 in the West Indies in nine months time isn't going to be any different. If I'm still around, we would do some good planning and if need be, pull guys out of the IPL.

India managed easy wins against minnows Bangladesh and Ireland in the preliminary stages of the T20 World Cup while losing against the West Indies and England to end their campaign in the tournament.

But Kirsten minced no words and said Indian team was not fresh and fit to take on tough opponents after the IPL, which came close on the heels of excessive international cricket since January.

"We were not as energetic as we were in New Zealand... we were relatively tired when we arrived here. We have been on the road since end of January.

"We were not sure if we should increase the training or give sufficient rest. In the end, we gave them as much rest as we could so that they could be pumped up for important games.

"But I have no doubt he would come through and continue to make his mark. We have played short-pitched bowling in other conditions so that's something which is not new," Kirsten said.

The coach Kirsten dismissed the notion that playing IPL could actually prepare the Indian team play better.

"It's a domestic competition. There are a few top cricketers and then first class cricketers making up the rest.

"There is a reasonably big gap between IPL and international cricket. When the best 11 players are representing a country, naturally the standard is going to go up substantially," he said.

The former South African opener said a lot of players in the side had taken this defeat badly and how they recover from it would decide how prepared they are to improve.

Kirsten had only words of praise for Dhoni whom he described as one of the most exceptional leaders that he had seen in his life.

"He is an extremely professional cricketer. He is one of the most exceptional leaders that I have seen in any walks of my life. He is able to separate the other things from his cricket and is extremely focused. He is one of the greatest finishers in the game of cricket.

"We feel in high profile game he is the one who can close out game for us. We wanted to save Yuvraj, Dhoni and Pathan for the final 12 overs of the innings," he added.

Kirsten though admitted that Dhoni was still just about figuring out his game in Twenty20 cricket.