England pacer Stuart Broad is glad that he sat out of the IPL to rest his tired body and says being fresh at the Twenty20 World Cup in Gros Islet has helped him produce match-winning spells for his team, which is in the finals.
Broad was one of the few international cricketers to opt out of the six-week-long glitzy league, which ended just five days before the World Cup.
"At the time my body needed a bit of a break after a tough winter in South Africa and Bangladesh and I feel fresh. That was much required," Broad said after picking up two important wickets in England's semi-final win over Sri Lanka.
"Every player involved in it (IPL) has only got good words to say. But I am pleased I had the rest this time," said Broad, who was adjudged man-of-the-match for his performance.
Broad said playing in the IPL would not have been wrong but he had his priorities clear.
"There was a lot of talk about whether going to the IPL would have helped me going into the tournament. And I believe, sure it would have done, it would have been fantastic to learn some more skills in different conditions.
The 23-year-old pacer said he and his bowling partner Ryan Sidebottom had a clear plan to unsettle the Lankans and that was to bowl as slow as possible, making it difficult for the batsmen to clear the long boundaries.
"We just thought that the slower the ball, with these big boundaries, the harder it would be to hit. The batsmen tell us what they've found it difficult on certain wickets.
"My personal theory was to try to bowl as slow as I possibly could and try to make the batsmen hit hard. It's a lot of practice in the nets. What I try to do is mix it up with a decent-paced ball as well, because there's no point letting the batsmen get completely settled into what you're doing," Broad said.
Broad said that he would employ different tactics on the faster Kensington Oval pitch in Sunday's final, where England will face either defending champions Pakistan or arch-rivals Australia.
"But that will potentially all change, looking at the wicket in Barbados. We might have to adjust and play differently there."
England have never won a major limited overs tournament. Last time they reached the final of any major event was at the 2004 Champions Trophy, where they lost to the West Indies at the Oval.
