CAPE TOWN - Proteas all-rounder Wayne Parnell believes Indian Premier League rookie Marco Jansen is “in good hands with all those cricket brains at Mumbai Indians”.
Parnell, 31, speaking exclusively on the IOL Sports Show, has played 111 international matches for the Proteas across formats, also begun his IPL career as a 20-year-old just like Jansen has done this season.
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Picked up initially at the 2010 IPL auction for $610 000 on the basis of his spectacular form shown at the preceding ICC T20 World Cup in England by the Delhi Daredevils, Parnell spent five seasons in IPL playing for various teams.
Jansen, though, is even less experienced as the beanpole left-arm seam bowler has played precious little domestic franchise cricket in South Africa previously and has not even been capped at international level yet.
Parnell, though, believes with “father figures” such as West Indies legend Kieron Pollard at the IPL champions it will help Jansen settle into life in India.
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“I think being at Mumbai Indians, he is very lucky firstly. It is one of the best franchises; it is one of the best run franchises. There are a lot of international guys, a lot of experienced guys at the franchise, like Rohit Sharma, the Pandya brothers, (Jasprit) Bumrah … these are world class cricketers. And then of course there is Kieron Pollard,” said Parnell, who is currently playing county cricket for Northamptonshire.
“I think he would be really helping to make Marco feel comfortable. He is just that type of guy. I was lucky enough to play with a couple of seasons at the Cape Cobras and also the CPL. He is such a great team guy, almost like a father figure, so Marc will be in good hands with all those cricket brains at Mumbai Indians.”
Having played in over 200 T20 matches in leagues all over the world ranging from the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Canadian Premier League (CPL) and England’s Natwest T20 Blast, Parnell still though believes the IPL is ranked top of the list.
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“The best league that I have played in is the IPL. They are all different, when you go to the Caribbean there are different challenges there, when I played in the Pakistan Super League there as well,” he said.
“But the IPL is the strongest and most competitive, purely because there is a complete window where there is no international cricket played during that period. Every single cricketer is available to play at that time. So, you have basically ‘the best of the best’, where sometimes in the other leagues there might be a window where certain players are playing for their countries and you might be missing up some of those players.”
Parnell will be playing for Western Province in the newly-revamped South African domestic structure next season and will be eligible for Proteas selection again after playing the past few seasons as a Kolpak in England.