'They don't know how bowlers set up batters' - Former Australia Cricketer feels Indian T20 League is making youngsters lose Test cricket skills

The Indian T20 League is the biggest league in world cricket. It provides a platform for youngsters to show their talent to the entire world and learn by playing with international cricketers. However, fears have been raised that the focus on the shortest format could mean the upcoming generation will prefer T20 cricket ahead of Tests. Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg feels that the focus on T20 cricket is depriving the upcoming generation of skills to bat for a longer period.

Hogg feels that huge sums of money being offered in the Indian T20 League is making the youngsters focus more on T20 cricket.

“I think it is (Indian T20 League affecting Indian cricket) because the young players that are coming through the system are more focused on playing T20 Indian T20 League cricket because there is probably a little more cash in it, it’s a short form, it’s quick and you get the game done and dusted," Hogg said.

Hogg further said that it is not affecting the current generation that is playing international cricket but the upcoming generation who’re making their debuts for India.

“When they are focused on that T20 cricket scenario, they are not focused on the longer forms. They don’t know how bowlers set up batters to take wickets and how batters build their innings to bat for long periods of time. It’s not so much the generations that are playing international cricket right now like the Virat Kohli’s and Rohit Sharma’s. It’s younger players that are just debuting for India that are most affected," Hogg added.

405 cricketers to feature in Indian T20 League auction

Meanwhile, a total of 405 cricketers from across the globe are set to go under the hammer in Kochi at the upcoming Indian T20 League auction on December 23. Initially, a total of 369 players were shortlisted by 10 teams from a list of 991.

36 additional players were requested by the various teams which were then added to the final list. A maximum of 87 slots are now available with up to 30 being slotted for overseas players.

11 players are in the auction list with a base price of INR 1.5 crore. Manish Pandey and Mayank Agarwal are the two Indian players in the list of 20 cricketers with a base price of INR 1 crore. The remaining auction pool for franchises is INR 206.5 crore. The Hyderabad franchise has the largest auction purse of Rs 42.25 crore, while the Kolkata franchise has the smallest with Rs 7.05 crore remaining.