India is one of the most prominent names in cricketing world. A team which the world took seriously after the 1983 heroics, established it's domination around the end of 1st decade in 21st century. Having won 2 world cups, 2 champions trophy and the inaugural edition of T20 world cup, they are 2nd most successful team after Australia in terms of ICC trophies.

However, in spite of boasting a world class team , India is unable to clinch on to any title since 2013. It's been a decade, where in terms of ranking, Indian team has taken world by storm. But when it comes to performing under pressure in ICC knockouts, they fail miserably. And when it happens, the blame of all these humiliating defeats from past decade is put on IPL. Let's try to find out how much truth lies in it.

Indian Premier League , aka IPL is the most popular franchise cricket league in the world. Introduced in 2008, post the 2007 T20 world cup triumph, the tournament turned out to be a huge success , garnering worldwide attention. In spite of not being the first league of this kind , IPL broke all the records of viewership, sponsorship and limelight. The fame and finances involved in the game surprised everyone , and the returns out of it multiplied.

IPL turned out to be a game changer for Indian cricket and BCCI. When it came to financial status, BCCI was a mediocre board prior to the IPL , in spite of having world class players like Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly and others. The IPL helped BCCI transition from rags to riches and helped India become the powerhouse of cricket, because of the financial gains it promised.

On the other hand, fans were loving the franchise cricket. Meanwhile it helped tremendously to find Indian talents which were rather unknown. Ravichandran Ashwin, Swapnil Asnodkar, Paul Valthaty, and few others are the prime examples of these. Ravichandran Ashwin, who currently is the best bowler in Tests, was given a chance in Indian team post his performance in the first IPL. And many more such talented individuals got what they deserved because of IPL. So , in a nutshell IPL was always a boon to Indian cricket. But then , how did it suddenly start to get wrath from the fans ?

The primary reason is that the initial years of the IPL revolved around the international calendar, keeping in mind of the important ICC events. And now the international calender for India completely revolves around IPL. In 2011, World cup was arranged prior to the IPL, whereas in the recent years, IPL is scheduled right before WTC or important international assignments.

Firstly , the number of unnecessary bilaterals and meaningless series have increased multifold . There used to be a time when fans were eagerly waiting for a series to come , so that they can witness their favourite players play. Meanwhile now, there are hardly 2 weeks when there is no international game being played. The money hungry Indian board is not willing to let go of the money from these tours, resulting in continuous cricket.

So much, that injury scare for the players has risen the most. The players are hardly getting any time to rejuvenate. They don't find time to address their technical flaws and correct them in the nets. Their bodies are exhausted playing bilaterals , followed by the IPL Within a week and ICC events like WTC in a week followed by IPL.

Also knowing the fact that IPL is not a must win tournament, the mindset of players who are continuously of long tours changes. They become lethargic , and show less intent than what they are supposed to have. And when such lethargy gets you for a period of 2 months, it's impossible be be in right frame of mind just a week after IPL. Also, the players knowing the fact that win or loss at international is not going to affect them much financially , aren't much affected by the result of international tournaments. Having IPL fanbases worshipping the players somewhere gave a sense of fulfilment to players , which should ideally happen after a ICC title.

Having said that, most people argue on how the Australians and English players keep them reserved for ICC tournaments, by skipping IPL. And also go on to ask on why the Indian players can't do so. The answer is Indian players are bound to listen to the board , a board which believes more in minting money. Someone like Starc won't affect his career by declining to play the IPL, but any Indian player doing the same will face strong repurcussions. Therefore, no one at their place would want to miss IPL.

And a combined result of all these is the failure of Indian team in crucial international matches. A league which promotes Indian players, makes them a household name, makes them financially stable and makes the Indian board the richest board of the game, is definitely not a bad thing to happen for Indian cricket. IPL is still a boon for India and will continue to remain the same. But only if it is scheduled keeping in mind the international calendar and major ICC events, it will not be a major hurdle in between Indian team and international success.