'Passion for cricket in India is amazing' - Kane Williamson identifies IPL as the biggest domestic competition

Had the much-awaited IPL 2020 commenced as per schedule, many Indian and overseas stars would have been in action for their respective franchises. The COVID-19 debacle has put the sporting scenario at a halt, especially in India where the positive cases are increasing at a significant rate. India has registered over 5 lakh positive cases and the commencement of the IPL 2020 is still vague.

The cash-rich league was slated to start from March 29 but was eventually postponed for an indefinite period in the wake of the pandemic. New Zealand stalwart and former Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper Kane Williamson was also one of the star attractions of the tournament.

The Kiwi star recently opened up on his experience of playing in the tournament. According to the Kiwi star, IPL is the biggest domestic tournament due to its standard of cricket being pretty high. 29-year-old Williamson has played 41 matches in the IPL so far, amassing 1302 runs at an average of 38.29.

“The initial interest was obviously watching the IPL and seeing how big it was, it is the biggest domestic competition, T20 cricket being relatively new, what I saw was an opportunity to gain experience and learn,” Williamson told Ravichandran Ashwin on the spinner’s YouTube show titled ‘DRS with Ash’.

“For us, to see the passion for cricket in India is an amazing thing, it is a brilliant competition and there is a high standard, a lot of other countries have followed suit to start their leagues,” he added.

Quite different to lead NZ and an IPL side: Kane Williamson

During the interaction with Ashwin, Kane Williamson also explained the difference between leading New Zealand and an IPL franchise. The Kiwi skipper reminisced the memories of leading the Orange Army into the finals of IPL 2018. However, as fate would have it, Williamson and his troops didn’t lay their hands on the silverware as they lost the summit clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

“It is quite different to lead New Zealand and an IPL franchise, initially I did not know what to expect, but like I mentioned it is an Indian competition so you are coming into quite a different culture, I was trying to keep an open mind, there is a lot of experience in all of the groups, it was an enjoyable season to lead the SunRisers Hyderabad,” Williamson said.

“The support staff have been there at Hyderabad for a long time and they have enjoyed success, it was about maintaining the style of play that we are known for,” he added.

Here’s the video: