Youngsters should beware of IPL lure: Roebuck

New Delhi:

Former Somerset captain and cricket writer Peter Roebuck has slammed the IPL in his latest column and has warned young players from jumping senselessly onto the IPL bandwagon.

Roebuck said young players were falling for the temptations that the IPL is offering.

"Naturally it (IPL) is tempting go for the quick buck, or rather a quick million. Cricket is a blue-collar game hereabouts, and lots of the younger fellows are battlers. Sign on the dotted line, and overnight they can buy a house or a fancy car," he said in his column for the Sydney Morning Herald.

He also pointed out how the youngsters are tempted to take the big leap to play alongside international cricket stars.

"The youngsters are agog at the idea of mixing with the giants of the game. They can leap from grade cricket to batting with Sachin Tendulkar," he wrote.

He also highlighted that the IPL has increased the injury rates in the players.

"Numerous IPL players have returned with dreadful injuries, rotten form or soft brains. Playing a few 20-over games might not seem much of a commitment, but bad habits can easily set in."

"Andrew Symonds, Brett Lee, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff and Muttiah Muralitharan have all struggled to recover from their first IPL campaign," he added.

Roebuck also said the IPL suited the older and neglected cricketers who were anxious to make a mark.

"IPL suits older players on the way out and neglected cricketers anxious to make a mark and a dollar. Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Matthew Hayden and company are perfect fits - great cricketers unable or unwilling to spend days in the field or bowl long spells but still magnificent strikers of the ball, shrewd bowlers and proud competitors," Roebuck said.

He also said some of the potential talents have failed to live up to the buzz they created during their IPL stints.

"Nor has much been seen of bright sparks such as Ajantha Mendis or Shaun Marsh. For that matter Ishant Sharma and Ravi Bopara have gone backwards. India cannot find any youngsters to challenge its ageing champions. None of them have progressed. Some have become front-foot swipers," says Roebuck.