'Exposure of the highest level' - Matthew Hayden feels players who played IPL will have 'advantage' in WTC final

The World Test Championship is just a week away as India and Australia will be seen locking horns in the summit clash from June 7 at the Oval in London. Australia finished on the top spot in the WTC cycle 2021-23 with a points percentage of 66.67 while India finished on the second spot with percentage of 58.80.

Ahead of the all-important encounter, former Australia cricketer Matthew Hayden feels that there isn’t much disadvantage in playing IPL ahead of the big game. He further said that the standard of cricket is high in IPL and hence it doesn’t matter much whether players played county cricket or IPL.

"Don't pay too much mind to the preparation of either nation. I don't sense that there's a great disadvantage in playing IPL cricket as opposed to playing county cricket. The level is so extreme in high performance at IPL level. Take someone like a Cameron Green for example. He's had a bumper of a season for Mumbai Indians,” Hayden was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.

The two-time World Cup winner further said that people coming off from playing IPL will have a slight advantage heading into the big final.

“It's a no brainer whether he is playing here or whether he's actually playing in county cricket or wherever. He's exposed to the highest level of sport and if anything, I think there may be a slight advantage for the guys that have been playing that higher level (IPL),” he added.

Notably, it will be India’s second consecutive appearance in the WTC final after they lost to New Zealand in the inaugural edition in 2021. Meanwhile, India and Australia recently locked horns in a four-match Test series at home which India won by 2-1. 

Following their series win, the Rohit Sharma-led side dethroned Australia from the top spot in the ICC Test team rankings. They will now look to get crowned as the official champions of Test cricket in their second attempt. On the other hand, having lost the last four Test series against India, Australia will look to redeem themselves in the big game.