New Delhi, March 20 – Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has stated that managing pressure is the key challenge for young cricketers entering the Indian Premier League (IPL), especially those with high price tags.
IPL 2026 will see uncapped Indian players Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma in the spotlight after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) acquired them for ₹14 crore each in last year's auction. “The most important thing is how you handle pressure. The IPL is a tournament where you can be a hero one day, and then fade away the next.
“We have seen many players who earn a lot of money at an auction, but then don't perform the following season and aren't even selected again. I would like to see how a player like Prashant Veer, who has been paid upwards of ₹14 crore, performs under pressure when given an opportunity.
“Especially in the last four overs, whether he is batting or bowling, when a breakthrough is needed and he is being attacked from both ends, how does he respond in that moment?” Pathan said on JioStar.
He also said that a key factor for young players earning heavy paydays to succeed in the IPL will be how they deal with failure and bounce back in the future. “If I were part of the management, I would also observe what happens after a player fails under pressure in a few matches.
“How does he regroup, rebuild, and step back onto the field with confidence? Because if I've invested such a large amount in a player at the auction, I obviously trust his ability, but along with that, his attitude also matters a lot.”
Former India opener Aakash Chopra highlighted the off-field distractions that come with the IPL's scale, for which young players are never trained to deal with. “What is truly unique about the IPL is something you don't experience when playing for your state, or even for India, because there you are surrounded by established superstars you can learn from, whereas here everything feels larger than life.
“For instance, at a franchise like Rajasthan Royals, he might already be the central figure in ad campaigns and shoots, and that can make him feel, ‘I am important.’ It is not temptation, it is simply something you are constantly exposed to – fans, autographs, photos, selfies, and being at the centre of everything.
“The challenge is that players are never really trained to deal with all this. They are trained to play cricket, how to face the ball and handle pressure on the field, but not how to manage these distractions. During the IPL’s eight to nine-week window, this becomes constant and can be overwhelming, so it needs to be handled very carefully,” he added.