Opinion/ IPL 2025 Might Dent IND's WTC 2027 Cycle, Cash-Rich League At Loggerheads With Team India's Red Ball Cricket Plans

Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru will kickstart the eighteenth edition of the Indian Premier League on March 22. IPL 2025 is expected to be bigger and better with many marquee players returning to the franchises where they all started. The IPL is a well-oiled machinery which drives India's domination in world cricket. But it is not always about the money. The IPL has also been a breeding ground for youngsters who are nurtured under the greats of the game. The Indian Premier League has been a game-changer in many ways; it has elevated the popularity of T20 cricket, which has been the most sought-after format in recent times. 

But where does it leave Test cricket, especially India's future in the red-ball format, which currently looks bleak? Let's not forget the fact that Rohit Sharma and his men had to face a drubbing of 3-1 at the hands of Pat Cummins's Australia earlier this year in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

The IPL and Its Subsequent Side Effects on India's England Tour

After the culmination of the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League, Team India will jet off to the UK for a five-match Test series against Ben Stokes' England. The India vs England series will kickstart India's journey in the 2027 cycle of the World Test Championship. It was reported that the members of the Indian Test team will go through rigorous red-ball training sessions during their busy IPL schedules. The Indian Test team is under transition, and there is a big question mark on Rohit Sharma's future as the Indian Test captain, but there is a larger problem at hand. India's star pace bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, is yet to regain full fitness. Bumrah, whose last appearance for India was in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, missed the Champions Trophy and is now at the Centre of Excellence nursing his back.

Not only Jasprit Bumrah, but Mohammed Shami's fitness too continues to remain under the scanner. Shami did return to play for India after 14 months, but he looked far from his best. The Test series against England is not going to be an easy one, and India's bowlers have to come to the party to counter the Bazball threat. The England series starts 25 days after the culmination of the Indian Premier League. The Indian batters, on the other hand, will rigorously play white-ball cricket for two months, and the transition to red-ball cricket won't be that easy.

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Gautam Gambhir's Plan for the England Series

Head Coach Gautam Gambhir, who came under fire for the debacle in Australia, has some other ideas in his mind that might benefit India in the England tour. Gambhir will reportedly travel to England with India's A team just before the IND vs ENG Test series starts. The Head Coach will like to assess the conditions at his disposal and build strategies that can outplay Ben Stokes and his defiant English side.

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