IPL show a 'benchmark' for World Twenty20 - Srikkanth
Kris Srikkanth, India's chairman of selectors, has said the IPL performances would be the "benchmark" for picking the squad for the World Twenty20, to be played in England in June
Cricinfo staff
19-Mar-2009
Yusuf Pathan followed up his Twenty20 World Cup performance with a starring role in the IPL • AFP
Kris Srikkanth, India's chairman of selectors, has said the IPL performances would be the "benchmark" for picking the squad for the World Twenty20, to be played in England in June.
Dhawal Kulkarni and Ravindra Jadeja made the step up to the national squad after being noticed in last year's IPL. Yusuf Pathan, who scored 435 runs at a strike-rate of 179.01 for eventual champions Rajasthan Royals, was part of India's team that won the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup.
Srikkanth, who attended the limited-overs Deodhar Trophy matches, said domestic tournaments helped the selectors pick a pool of talent for the future. "We are watching the domestic matches closely," Srikkanth said. "This [Deodhar Trophy] being the season-ender, it's a very important tournament. We have a very good bench strength in batting. There's good balance in bowling. The main idea is to watch more domestic matches and create a pool of youngsters."
The World Twenty20 will be played between June 5 and June 21. India's opening game is against Bangladesh on June 6.