Shortly after last week’s column was published, Matthew Hayden, former Australian opener and a lead commentator on the international cricket circuit, expressed a view that the Indian Premier League is seen as bigger than international cricket by many players.
Hayden is acting as batting coach to the Gujarat Titans in the current IPL. When this role is added to his status as a player and commentator, it gives him privileged insights into the views and motivations of players.
Hayden’s comments focused specifically on South Africans, Australians and New Zealanders. As highlighted last week, there are 12 New Zealanders playing in either the current IPL or Pakistan Super League. The late arrival of several Australian players to the IPL has boosted their numbers to 16, whilst there are 14 in the PSL. There are 17 South Africans playing in the IPL.
It may not be the case that all are choosing the IPL and PSL beyond their international commitments. After all, it is now winter in the southern hemisphere. Apart from New Zealand’s tour of Bangladesh, there is no international cricket in which these players need to be involved. As long as they have the permission of their national boards, the players are free to play and earn money in these leagues.
Players from other countries are involved. Extra spice was added to Hayden’s comments when Sir Alastair Cook, a former England captain and second highest Test run scorer for England, suggested that Jacob Bethell, England’s 21-year-old rising star, was being underused in the IPL. Bethell had not yet been selected for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Cook was of the view he should return to play English county cricket instead of being idle in India. Very quickly, Kevin Pietersen, ousted from the England team when Cook was captain, said Cook’s lack of IPL experience rendered his judgement irrelevant.
Bethell added fuel to the fire, saying: “I firmly believe this is the thing for me to be doing now, … getting time around the guys over here and the pure standard of cricket in India and the IPL”.
He pointed out that there is a different way of coaching in the IPL, providing a more hands-on approach and much more data input. Net practices are high-pressure events with hundreds of pair of eyes watching. Practice matches are arranged for those not playing in the team. Bethell also said “benchwarmer status in the IPL is worth more than playing weekly for your county,” though he added some red balls were arriving from England so that he could prepare for his return.
Shortly after these exchanges, he was picked to play for RCB and found himself opening the batting with none other than Virat Kohli.
Bethell’s opinions speak volumes. There is no doubt the IPL has evolved into the most followed and richest cricket league in the world. It is hardly a surprise players have signed up for the rich pickings. They have done so in different ways. Some, such as the West Indian Nicholas Pooran, the South African Heinrich Klaasen and New Zealand’s Trent Boult have withdrawn from central contracts with their countries in favor of lucrative contracts in franchise leagues. If salaries continue to increase this trend is set to continue, particularly as players move towards the end of their careers. Others, such as Bethell, are there to learn and develop.
Another factor raised by Bethell was the emergence of young Indian batters and the fierce competition for places in the starting line-up that they provide. In addition, they are raising the prospect of adding further impetus to India’s potential dominance of the international game. The most notable young talent to emerge is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who turned 15 at the start of this year’s IPL. On Feb. 6, he scored 175 from only 80 deliveries for India against England in the 2026 ICC U-19 World Cup final, helping India secure their sixth U-19 title. Such are the riches at India’s hand.
Currently, Sooryavanshi is the highest run scorer in IPL 2026 and the highest for Rajasthan Royals. He has scored 400 runs in nine matches at an average of 44.44, striking at an astonishing 268.75 in the tournament so far. This has included three 15-ball half-centuries and two centuries, one scored from only 36 deliveries, the third fastest 100 in IPL history. The innings also made him the fastest player to reach 1,000 runs in terms of balls faced in IPL history. Commentators are running out of superlatives to describe his performances, which are characterized by a fearless approach and an attacking intent from the very first delivery he faces.
The emergence of prodigious talent such as that of Sooryavanshi only serves to heighten the luster and attraction of the IPL. Young Indian cricketers probably dream of securing an IPL contract before any other, because one season has the potential to be a life-changer. In terms of commercial power, entertainment value and viewership — at least in India — the IPL stands alone. Matthew Hayden’s suggestion that the IPL is seen as bigger than international cricket by many international players has now sparked a wider debate.
As discussed in last week’s column, cricket in general does have to battle for oxygen when the IPL is being played. Two months is a long time for a tournament of this nature to run and retain attention. So far, proposals for its expansion have not materialized, probably to the relief of many outside India. There are also some cracks which seem to be appearing around the tournament’s integrity. It has been criticized for being far too batter friendly, played on pitches prepared for that purpose, with boundaries shortened to encourage six-hitting. Questions have also been raised over the legitimacy of bats, with several being shown not to fit into the specially prepared gauge.
One franchise owner has been filmed, not for the first time, verbally remonstrating with his team after a disappointing defeat. There have been other visible on-field altercations and several poor umpiring decisions which have raised eyebrows.
On April 26, an extraordinary batting collapse occurred in Delhi that ran contrary to the image of batter-friendly conditions. The Delhi Capitals were asked to bat by RCB and were reeling at the loss of six wickets for only eight runs in four overs. In the previous match at the same venue, they scored 264. Forty-eight hours later, on a pitch offering some help, devastating spells of swing and seam bowling from Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3 for 5) and Josh Hazlewood (4 for 12) settled a contest before some spectators had reached their seats, not something supposed to happen in the IPL.
Hazlewood is one of a trio of outstanding Australian fast bowlers entering the latter stages of their careers. The physical and mental demands means their workloads and injury risks are being managed both by the players and Cricket Australia. This led to Hazlewood not being available at the start of the IPL season whilst the other two, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, have only recently joined their IPL teams.
Some discontent has been expressed in India about these late arrivals and how disrespectful they appear to be to the IPL. However, it is clear the franchises greatly value the skill sets brought by these players to the later stage of the tournament.
A balance has been struck between the IPL’s demands, the players’ ambitions and Australia’s desire for them to continue to play international cricket. In this way, tensions have been diffused. It is important they continue to be so and that the other tensions which have emerged are also resolved if the IPL is to realize claims to be bigger than international cricket. Perhaps it is for two months, but this leaves 10 months to be free of it — but not of other franchise leagues.
