'There were no parties here, were there?'

"As the Kolkata Knight Riders' bowling consultant, I have been a part of the cash-rich IPL. More than the playing, it is the travelling that causes fatigue. Criss-crossing India kills you, but you have no option, as one has to deal with it being a professional cricketer."
Wasim Akram believes the IPL did affect India's performance

"You have to confess that you played badly and you lost. The IPL is great for everybody, but nothing can be greater than playing international cricket"
Blaming the IPL is a sorry excuse, says Kapil Dev

"There were no parties here, were there? So how can you say that the team performed badly in the Caribbean because of parties in India?"
Sunil Gavaskar rubbishes claims that the IPL's late-night parties affected the players' performance in the World Twenty20

"Now, it is all about 'let us blame late-night matches and parties.' Where was this thought when the players took the cheque for the IPL - they always knew there were late night matches."
Former model Mehr Jesia, whose event management company organised the IPL Nights, defends the events

"The IPL is a case where the baby has to go out with the bathwater because the form of cricket and the way it has been organised are causing serious harm to the game of cricket in India and to the players. The BCCI would be well advised to build up Ranji Trophy… as a brand."
The Kolkata Telegraph's editorial says the IPL is indeed at fault

"The competition was never intense in the league [IPL] but when you go and play for your national team in a World Cup, the pressure and intensity of competition is different and I don't think Indian players were prepared to handle that pressure."
Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad says the IPL was poor preparation for the World Twenty20

"The governing council and the board knew about the after-match parties. Why didn't they stop the players from attending the parties?"
Former India spinner Bishan Bedi thinks the blame does not lie entirely with the players

"There were a few players who played the IPL with injuries, but when it came to playing for the country, they suddenly declared they were unfit. This isn't a good sign."
Mohammad Azharuddin, the former India captain, reopens the club v country debate

"The players go to such parties because they are organised. The players should not have gone there. I am totally against it. Sehwag stays away from women and is happy with his family."
Virender Sehwag's mother, Krishna, on the lessons to be learnt from the IPL