Image Credit- AP
Watching T20 leagues as a feeder system for
international cricket will help both forms of the game, says South Africa
wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi. This is in contrast to thinking of franchise
competitions and bilateral matches as mutually exclusive.
Speaking after South Africa defeated India in Gqeberha
by five wickets, both sides fielding experimental XIs, Shamsi underlined that
leagues may facilitate skill sharing and help produce more players prepared for
international cricket.
“When the leagues first started, they were seen
in a bad light in the sense that it was all about players wanting to earn
money. But when you play in different leagues, you pick up little bits of
golden nuggets,” Shamsi said. “We are so used to doing things a
certain way in South Africa, as are other countries, so you pick up bits and
pieces of what other other people do slightly differently and you try that for
yourself. Some of it works, some of it doesn’t and you improve as a player. Guys
go and get more experience, and it gives other players and it widens the
pool.”
Shamsi himself is the finest illustration of that.
Early in the 2010s, he was participating in South Africa’s native second
division until he was selected by the Kitts & Nevis Patriots for the 2015
CPL. After finishing as their leading wicket-taker, he earned his South African
debut in an ODI series in the West Indies a year later. He claimed that his CPL
experience aided in his transfer to the national squad.
“As a youngster playing in the CPL before I made
my debut for the Proteas in West Indies helped me feel so relaxed because I had
been in those stadiums and I had done well on those pitches. So when I
eventually did play for South Africa, I felt at home,” he said.
“Over the years, we’ve seen what the IPL has done
for Indian players and Indian youngsters in particular. When they come to the
international scene they have already played in front of huge crowds, they have
had their disappointments and bad games in front of huge crowds, so they have
learned how to deal with that, and they’ve had success in front of good crowds
so they know how to deal with that too,” he said. “When they come to
international cricket, it’s just business as usual.”