India's bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad refused to blame the Indian Premier League for India's dismal show at the Twenty20 World Cup in England, where the team failed to defend the title and crashed out early.
Prasad, who is also bowling coach of Chennai Super Kings, rather believes the IPL was a perfect platform to prepare for the second edition of the T20 World Cup.
"I would not use the IPL as an excuse. I feel the players could not have asked for better preparation coming into the World Twenty20. India was the only country in the competition with 40-50 players who had played the IPL," said Prasad.
"If any one of them had been picked, they should have performed. In fact, the IPL is the best preparation they'd have got. What more do you want than being in the middle and getting to know various situations?" he told Cricinfo.
India coach Gary Kirsten had hinted that fatigue was a factor for India's debacle at the T20 World Cup.
Prasad said players who maintain proper fitness stand a good chance of tasting success.
"If suddenly something happens to a particular player during a series, you call in somebody from the pool. And if he has been constantly working on his fitness, he immediately fits in. But if he comes in from the cold, his performance might drop, he will develop doubts about his ability, and people will ask questions," he said.
"If you have got a gap like what you have got now, close to two months, you need to get enough rest and recovery but, at the same time, you need to work on your fitness rigorously."
Prasad also thinks international players who are struggling to maintain their fitness levels may opt for shorter formats of the game like IPL.
"The introduction of Twenty20 has changed the scenario a bit. What I've been noticing is that people love playing Twenty20 because it's a shorter form.
"They might opt for Twenty20 for the monetary aspect or because it's much easier to play. You need to play just for three or four hours a day at the most, take your money and go," he said.
