TRENT BRIDGE: A bitterly disappointed coach Gary Kirsten has blamed "the timing of Indian Premier League" for India's debacle in the Twenty20 World Cup here and hinted at skipping the IPL to be ready for the next edition in 2010. Kirsten said the fatigue factor and injuries sustained by the players in IPL were the main reasons for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team's early exit.
"A lot of our cricketers carried niggles in this tournament. We picked up niggles in the IPL and lost contact with them," Kirsten told reporters here.
"India's schedule ahead of the next Twenty20 in the West Indies in nine months time isn't going to be any different. If I'm still around, we would do some good planning and if need be, pull guys out of the IPL. We want when the real competition comes along, the people are ready for it," he said.
Incidentally, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had admitted in his pre-departure press conference for the T20 World Cup that the team was tired but claimed IPL was a good practice for the young players and they also learnt to handle pressure situation during the tournament.