IPL participation depends on individuals, says Sachin Tendulkar

The Indian Premier League (IPL) will begin from Saturday, March 23 but there has been severe speculation over Indian player's participation in the tournament as the league will be immediately followed by the World Cup.

But the former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar believes each player has a different requirement and that to play or not is an individual choice.

"To me, momentum is important, every individual should be smart enough to assess if he needs to take a break or he needs to play games to stay in thick of things. Each player has different requirements so the responsibility falls down to the individuals," Tendulkar told ANI.

Mumbai Premier League will be played right after IPL and Tendulkar has said that these type of tournaments help to groom talent in the country as these type of matches give exposure to the players at an early stage.

"I think MPL is a great platform because not all the players get to play Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy or IPL for that matter. But they have been playing in Mumbai for a long time and now MPL gets televised so players get recognition and every athlete gets encouraged when they receive recognition," Tendulkar said.

"MPL has already given three IPL players, three guys have been picked up IPL teams, It's a living example for other players if you go out there and perform well, you can get selected for the IPL team. The biggest dream for every cricketer should be to play for India," he added.

Talking about this year's IPL, the legend has said that all the teams are quite good this season and the tournament will be closely contested.

"I think all the teams are good this year and in this format, if you are not having a good day there is not much time for recovery. Things change dramatically in this format. It is a fast format and you have to be switched on at every moment.

Tendulkar, is currently the mentor of Mumbai Indians in the IPL and the team will take on Delhi Capitals in their opening match on March 24 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.