Ian Chappell: England, beware of feisty Indians

Delhi skipper Shreyas Iyer and Chennai captain MS Dhoni share a light moment ahead of the toss during an T20 tie at the Feroz Shah Kotla this year Both players will be part of the Indian squad for the tour to England in July PicAFPThe Indian Premier League IPL has enjoyed another highly successful season featuring numerous nailbiting last over finishes and a tensionbuilding scramble amongst teams vying for a place in the finals In its eleventh season the IPL has certainly not lost and if anything only gained in lustre Players from all round the cricketing world are desperate to win a contract and become involved in what is widely considered the most glamorous and definitely the most rewarding of all the T20 leaguesImproved playing standardsIn addition to the financial benefits the IPL has brought Indian cricket the league has had a huge positive effect on playing standards Since the advent of the IPL Indian teams are more confident and aggressive in their approach to the game and nowhere does this better show up than in their fielding The overseas influence on Indian cricket through the IPL has resulted in a more combative national team confident in its ability to match it with any opposition Theres nothing like playing with and against international stars on a regular basis to help young players discover that despite their great skill these lauded individuals are still vulnerable to a good delivery or capable of bowling the odd bad ballIdols have changedThe young Indian cricketers who once grew up revering players from other teams like Australia England and the West Indies have been replaced by those who idolise the likes of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni Where a young Indian player in the past often lusted after a meeting with his idol from overseas now they dream of replicating the deeds of Kohli and Dhoni Indian cricket is now at a point where there is serious competition for places in all the national teams and its a matter of perform or perish Gone are the days when a player mdash selected to play in a Test against Australian tearaway Jeff Thomson mdash exclaimed Why me Or the times when rather than wanting to compete at the highest level the ambition of some young Indian tourists went no further than attaining a cap and blazer to proudly display to their friends back homeIndia a role modelIndia is now the envy of the cricket world when it comes to producing skilful young batsmen Its going to be an interesting clash when India meets England later this year While the tourists are spoilt for batting choices the hosts are stumbling from one top order collapse to another There was a time when an Indian tour wouldve been warmly greeted by England batsmen as an opportunity to find form With India now producing not only bowlers of pace but those who are also seam savvy theyll relish the opportunity to cause further disarray among Englands top orderThis highly anticipated clash will also be one of diverging cricketing cultures While India is riding high on the back of IPL riches and success England is trying to forge a path like a blind man wielding a white stick The next addition to an England summer schedule that already resembles a game of pinthetailonthedonkey is a 100ball competition that has the backing of few outside an administrative cliqueBad planning by EnglandWhile there appears to be great uncertainty among players surrounding this competition there can be no doubt that the scattergun approach to Englands domestic cricket schedule is having an unsettling effect on the countrys batting prospects The fragile England batting will be further tested by Kohlis captaincy which features a strong desire to seek victory from the outset By constantly probing for a win Kohli is also challenging his own players to produce their best in tight situationsThe fact that the Indian players are now constantly facing tensionfilled situations and dramatic close finishes in front of big crowds at IPL matches has helped to hasten this learning process in the international arena Theres no doubt India can be thankful for the highprofile IPL and the positive influence its had on the national team This extremely successful venture could be about to pay even bigger dividends in the UKCatch up on all the latest T20 news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates