IPL is the pinnacle of all T20 tournaments: Mitchell Santner

Mitchell Santner, the New Zealand all-rounder, has named the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the pinnacle of all T20 tournaments. Santner was picked by the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2018 edition of the cash-rich league, but he missed out due to an injury. In 2019, he made his IPL debut against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

He played four matches last season in which he scored 32 runs and picked up four wickets at a decent economy of 6.71. The slow and low decks at the Chepauk also helped his style of bowling. The 28-year-old Santner was pretty excited after he went to the Super Kings. He was over the moon on being able to play alongside the likes of Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir and Ravindra Jadeja.

It’s an unbelievable tournament, says Mitchell Santner

“Yeah, the IPL, I guess, is the pinnacle of all T20 tournaments and I was pretty excited when I was picked up in 2018. There are some world-class spinners in Chennai to talk to and play with – guys like Harbhajan Singh, who I’ve watched a lot of, Ravindra Jadeja and Imran Tahir as well,” Santner was quoted as saying in ESPNcricinfo.

“When I got injured the first year, I was pretty disappointed, but I was given the opportunity last time around to go and experience it. It’s an unbelievable tournament and definitely the best cricket going around in terms of T20 leagues,” he added.

Santner also put forth his experience of playing under Dhoni, who has been a bedrock of the CSK setup since the inaugural season in 2008. “I’ve played against Dhoni a lot, so to share a dressing room with him and talk to him about how he goes about things was awesome. Even guys like Suresh Raina – you watched him from other teams you go with,” Santner added.

Santner made his debut for the Black Caps back in 2015 and has garnered quite a bit of experience. In 22 Tests, 72 ODIs and 44 T20Is, he has picked up 39, 71 and 52 wickets respectively. He is no mug with the bat either, scoring 1,947 runs at the highest level.