Wasim Akram was relieved by the absence of Team India’s T20 World Cup squad members in the IPL 2024 final, and joked that they would not use any excuses.
IPL 2024 finally came to an end on Sunday as Kolkata Knight Riders cruised to a eight-wicket victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai. Chasing 114, KKR raced to 114/2 in 10.3 overs as Venkatesh Iyer smacked an unbeaten knock of 52 runs off 26 balls.
Wasim Akram pointed out that none of the Team India T20 WC squad members were in the IPL 2024 final.(Getty Images)
Initially, a three-wicket haul by Andre Russell saw KKR restrict SRH to 113 in 18.3 overs, and Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana picked two wickets each respectively.
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The IPL 2024 final also saw no Team India players feature in the match. Rinku Singh was part of KKR’s squad, but has been named as a reserve for the ICC tournament.
Speaking to Sportskeeda Cricket, Pakistan legend Wasim Akram called it a ‘blessing in disguise’ for Indian cricket. “Well, now atleast none of them will have to say that they are tired. They were thinking ahead, what is the point of reaching the final, India is more important, we will play with the country. But it could be a blessing in disguise for India,” he said.
“We discussed in the previous show that I was worried that they might be tired, and they will be tired, no doubt. Even America is not their road. I think Pakistan’s first match is Dallas if I remember. Now they will go and play there, one or two practice matches. It will be okay, I suppose. It is T20, the boys will recover, nowadays fitness levels are very high,” he further added.
The Indian contingent have already reached New York for their T20 World Cup preparations. As part of their warm-up, they will face Bangladesh in June 1, at Nassau County. In 2021, they flew straight to UAE to play the T20 World Cup after the IPL final, but crashed out in the first round. They will be hoping to challenge for the title.
Rajasthan Royals who lost in Qualifier 2 had three players, who will represent India in the T20 World Cup; captain Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Yuzvendra Chahal. Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who lost in the Eliminator, had Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj in their ranks.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin on June 2. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma-led Team India will begin their campaign on June 5, against Ireland in New York.
