Bangalore: The cricketers may have done it in the IPL, but India's top male shuttler Parupalli Kashyap feels big names associated with the shuttle sport would not be forthcoming in sharing tricks with their team-mates from different countries in the upcoming Indian Badminton League.
"Cricket is a team game and it is obvious for the team to win as a unit, and you find many top players sharing their tricks with young ones. Badminton is an individual sport and players wouldn't like to share tricks with other players lest they end up losing to them in other tournaments," Kashyap told PTI here on the sidelines of an IBL event on Tuesday.
Kashyap, one of the six icon players in the IBL, said the Chinese have been secretive about their training, which has helped them dominate the sport for a long time. "Obviously, ten years down the line if we are as strong as China, we wouldn't want any Malaysian and any other player to come and train with us and learn our ways lest we end up losing to him in other tournaments," he added.
The IBL, however, Kashyap said, will certainly help young Indian shuttlers to observe and learn the nuances of the sport playing alongside or against top international players.
IBL is a good thing to happen for the established and young players, as it would give them financial security, Kashyap said. "In my teens when I started playing the sport, my parents considered it a risk to make it a career. But now, with this kind of an event, which involves money, aspirants can make badminton their career. This is good for the sport and it will only grow in years to come," he said.
Kahsyap said the IBL would help him improve his rankings as the event is being conducted at a time when he is ranked 15th in the world. "Playing a couple of matches against some top players will give me good exposure and boost my confidence," he added.
On leading Banga Beats in the IBL, Kashyap said there isn't too much of burden on his shoulders to perform as he has the support of two top players in Carsten Mogensen of Denmark and Hu Yun of Hong Kong. "With these two around, my responsibility has only lessened," he added.
Kashyap said IBL schedule wasn't hectic and would not affect players physically and mentally because there are rest days between matches. "It is only at the later stages of the IBL that you play almost everyday," he said.
The IBL also would be a boon for Indian shuttlers with Delhi hosting Thomas and Uber Cups in May 2014, Kashyap said.
On his World Championship preparations, the Hyderabadi lad said he is working on his defence and long rallies besides adding more variation to his game. "I and Gopi sir (Pullela Gopichand) have been working on long rallies and defence besides adding more variations to the sport. Conditions in China are different. They are slower and shuttles different," he said.
The last three tournaments saw Kashyap making first round exits, which resulted in him losing about 5,610 ranking points and fell seven places from a career-best sixth rank to 13th spot in men's singles.
Kashyap said playing before Chinese spectators will not affect his game as they are more sober than Indonesian or Malaysians, who get into the skin of visiting players.
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