Will Team India Consider IPL Performances of Players

India will play 10 T20Is before the World Cup (five with South Africa, 2 with Ireland, and three with England. It is believed that many young players might be shortlisted and given a chance during this period. Hence, the question arises, whether this shortlisting will be based on the IPL performance?

In the past decade, the Indian T20 League has done wonders in helping young cricketers establish their careers and play for the nation. The cash-rich league did so briefly compared to other traditional tournaments.  

In the ongoing IPL season, many big Indian stars are underperforming. Namely, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who are considered the team's backbone irrespective of the format they play in, their struggling form has become a matter of concern. Ignoring young performing talent over big struggling names is hard with the World Cup on cards and being a fast sport. Thus, making it challenging for selectors to strike a balance between experience and a fair chance for youngsters.

Some veterans still have it!

While some current team members were seen struggling, new youngsters were seen roaring, and there were veterans, too, proving their existence in the game while playing in IPL 2022.  

Dinesh Karthik's role as a finisher for Royal Challengers Bangalore could pitch for the wicket-keeper batter in India as the team builds for the upcoming World Cup. He has scored 285 runs, averaging 57, and playing at a phenomenal strike rate of 192.57. 

Apart from him, Shikhar Dhawan also looks in fine form as an opener for Punjab Kings, having scored 421 runs at an average of 38.27. The left-hander was ignored last year, and if selectors considered IPL performance, he might make it to the squad. 

Coach Rahul Dravid's views on IPL from selection parameter

Rahul Dravid remains a purist at heart for someone who has seen the game's evolution from Test cricket to T20s. He never endorsed an IPL performance as good enough to merit selection in the Indian team. He confirms the same in a recent interview with ESPN Cricinfo, citing that IPL performance will not impact a player's choice for the national team, especially for ODI and Test forms of the game.

The Indian Premier League looked to change the selection system completely. Former India skipper Rahul Dravid expressed his opinion on the same.

As he explained, "In the Twenty20 format, yes, maybe. But I think the selectors have also been very good, in the sense that they are expecting people to do well in the Ranji Trophy. So, whether it is a Shubman Gill or a Prithvi Shaw from the last batch who came in, if you look at their performances, they have got into the Indian team based not only on their IPL runs but also on their Ranji Trophy runs, their India A runs."

He added that the selectors are not only looking at IPL performances. In the conversations and discussions he had with them, it became evident that they put a lot of value on domestic cricket and a lot of weight on domestic runs, India A runs.

So we might see the impact of IPL performances on the team selection for the Indian T20 team or even the World Cup squad. But for the ODI and Test team, it somehow doesn't feel right even to the Indian coach and selectors.