Wasim Akram takes a dig at IPL after India's T20 World Cup humiliation

Legendary Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram said was he intrigued by India's failure to win the Twenty20 World Cup since the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the biggest and the richest franchise league, in 2008.

Following India's humiliating 10-wicket defeat to England in the semifinal on Thursday, Wasim also said that the IPL is the reason for India's bowling woes.

The Indian bowlers were helpless against the destructive English opening pair of Jos Buttler and Alex Hales on Thursday in Adelaide.

Buttler (80 not out off 49 balls) and Hales (86 not out off 47 balls) decimated the Indian bowling attack as England chased down 168 in just 16 overs for an emphatic 10-wicket victory to set up a final clash with Pakistan.

Without express pace, the Indian attack struggled on a track that had no assistance for swing bowlers.

Wasim felt India would have given England a run for their money if their bowlers had more pace to trouble the batters.

"It's not that India don't have fast bowlers who can bowl quick. They have a few very exciting young pace bowlers like Avesh Khan and Umran Malik. These guys can consistently bowl at 145 kmph. But the problem is most of their young fast bowlers lose their pace after playing one season in the IPL," Wasim said during a panel discussion on ASports.

"After one IPL season, Avesh's pace came down to 135. So the BCCI should check why this is happening frequently in Indian cricket."

The youngsters in Indian cricket also lose the hunger to work hard on their game after earning big IPL contracts, according to Wasim.

"I think Avesh was paid 12 crores (Rs120 million) in the IPL. I am all for money. But when you are young and you are paid so much money, it's possible for a youngster to lose focus and lose the hunger to work hard," Wasim said.

"So I think there should be a cap when it comes to giving IPL contracts to young players. Only then will these youngsters realise the importance of working hard and showing the hunger to improve."

After India's latest setback in an ICC event, Wasim also slammed the BCCI's policy of not allowing Indian players to play in foreign franchise leagues like the Big Bash in Australia and the Caribbean Premier League.

"Since the IPL started in 2008, India have not won the T20 World Cup. Their only T20 World Cup title came in 2007, one year before the IPL started," he said.

"So it's something for the BCCI to think about because they don't allow their players to play in foreign leagues. Maybe that is robbing them of a chance to learn by playing T20 cricket in different countries and in different conditions."

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