'I got picked for South Africa after playing in IPL and CPL' - Tabraiz Shamsi feels players don't feature in T20 leagues only for money

The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been suspended indefinitely after the coronavirus entered the bio bubble and players from various teams were infected. And now, South African cricketer Tabraiz Shamsi has opened up on the IPL.

Shamsi stated that he was fortunate to get a chance to play in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), and added that only after he did well in the CPL and subsequently in the Indian Premier League (IPL), did he manage to start playing for the South African national team.

Shamsi further opined that playing in tournaments like the CPL, IPL, and English County has helped him improve his game. The left-arm spinner went on to state that many people have the misconception that players participate in the IPL only for money. But then, Shamsi asserted that the important thing is that the cricketers learn a lot from other players in the IPL.

“Yes definitely. I’ve been fortunate enough to play in the Caribbean Premier League and it was after I went to the CPL and did well that domestic teams in South Africa started to take me seriously and giving me regular game time and then I got picked for the national team after playing CPL and IPL.

I find that it has helped my game quite a lot playing in the CPL, IPL, and English County Cricket. People see it as a money thing and say that the players are participating in these tournaments for greed. Personally speaking, of course, you do earn a bit of money but what is most important are the things that you learn from the people who are not really in your circle,” said Shamsi to Cricket Pakistan.

“You learn about different ways people think about the game,” says Tabraiz Shamsi

Tabraiz Shamsi further added that a player gets to interact with players from different countries and understand the way they think about the game and the way they train as well. Shamsi concluded by stating that these small things that he has picked up from playing in different cricketing leagues have helped in his growth as a bowler.

“So, you are hearing different chats from West Indian players or Indian players and you are learning about the different ways people think about the game and train. You pick up the small things like that and I think that sort of exposure has really accelerated my growth as a spin-bowler,” said Shamsi.