'I have always felt that IPL's introduction has helped players.'
Batting great Sachin Tendulkar on Friday credited the Indian Premier League for helping develop India's bench strength, saying the current lot has benefitted by constantly playing against world-class performers in the T20 league.
Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, who play for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, have produced stunning knocks against England in the ongoing T20I series and Tendulkar attributed their success to the league.
"Yeah, both Surya and Ishan are ready to play, because you know, I have always felt that IPL's introduction has helped players," Tendulkar, who is captaining the India Legends in the ongoing Road Safety World Series, said.
"Because earlier when we played, I hadn't played against a Wasim (Akram), when we played in Australia, I hadn't played a (Shane) Warne or (Craig) McDermott or Merv Hughes. We went there and we had to figure out what has happened."
Tendulkar said the IPL has provided the players the opportunity to run shoulders with the top stars and compete against the best.
"With the help of IPL, I mean, yesterday I was watching the game, and Surya was batting and (Jofra) Archer bowled to him and Ben Stokes and the commentator said that it is nothing new for Surya because he has already played against Rajasthan Royals," he said.
"Both Archer and Stokes play for Rajasthan Royals, so it is nothing different and he (Surya) knows what they do and he has played against them already. So, it wasn't first time.
"That's the only reason I am saying that both these guys are ready to play for India and that just shows the bench strength of our team, it is really strong. So that's the beauty of our cricket now, that there are a number of players, who are ready to go out."
