Showering praises on the Indian Premier League (IPL) and calling it the biggest domestic competition on the world, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has stated that other countries have started their own league following the successful IPL formula.
“The initial interest was obviously watching the IPL and seeing how big it was, it is the biggest domestic competition, T20 cricket being relatively new, what I saw was an opportunity to gain experience and learn,” Williamson told Ravichandran Ashwin on the senior India off-spinner’s YouTube show titled ‘DRS with Ash’.
“For us, to see the passion for cricket in India is an amazing thing, it is a brilliant competition and there is a high standard, a lot of other countries have followed suit to start their leagues,” he added.
Williamson, who plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and has also led the franchise in the past stated that he always kept an open mind while playing the IPL.
“It is quite different to lead New Zealand and an IPL franchise, initially I did not know what to expect, but like I mentioned it is an Indian competition so you are coming into quite a different culture, I was trying to keep an open mind, there is a lot of experience in all of the groups, it was an enjoyable season to lead the Sunrisers Hyderabad,” Williamson said.
“The support staff have been there at Hyderabad for a long time and they have enjoyed success, it was about maintaining the style of play that we are known for,” he added.
Williamson has featured in 41 IPL games so far and has managed to score 1,302 runs at an average of 38.29.