New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS) The Indian Premier League (IPL) has played a crucial role in helping overseas cricketers acclimatise to the pressure of playing in front of intimidating Indian crowds, said former England captain Nasser Hussain said ahead of the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup starting next month in India and Sri Lanka.

“As an opposition, you are also taking on the crowd in India. Recently, in the World Cup semi-final between Australia and India Women, you could see from the crowd interaction that once the momentum starts going India’s way, it becomes very difficult to drag it back.

“The only thing I would add is that, because of the IPL, many foreign players have played in these stadiums, experienced that atmosphere, and understood the challenges and pressures that come with it. In the old days, someone like me turning up in India and witnessing something like Sachin Tendulkar walking out to bat and the crowd reaction, you could see the fear in the bowlers’ eyes.

“Nowadays, it has become the norm. One of the repercussions of franchise cricket is that players are used to the conditions, used to the grounds, used to the crowd, and are not too intimidated by it,” said Hussain on JioStar.

Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, a member of the 2007 T20 World Cup winning team, pointed to how the Indian team’s approach towards crowd pressure has also transformed over the decades, citing the contrasting examples of the 1996 and 2023 ODI World Cup campaigns.

“In the early ’90s, the pressure actually got to the Indian team. In that 1996 World Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens, you could almost sense that they couldn’t handle the pressure.

“In 2011, under Gary Kirsten, with Paddy Upton as the mental conditioning coach, there was a conscious effort to look at the crowd and not feel pressure, but almost feel like it’s a privilege, having them back you and carry you through. I remember Sachin Tendulkar speaking about this, and I think that shifted things a little.

“They did quite well in the 2016 T20 World Cup in India, but the 2023 World Cup was a game-changer. They used that momentum well. They played excellent cricket, but they also used the energy the crowd gave to produce some outstanding cricket in a World Cup that was once again hosted in India,” he added.

–IANS

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