IPL will make us better - Patel

Samit Patel believes the IPL will help England's chances in the ICC World Twenty20

Samit Patel is hoping the recent agreement to free England's players to feature in the Indian Premier League can boost their chances of success in the ICC World Twenty20 tournament this summer.

Weeks of negotiations between the IPL, the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Professional Cricketers' Association resulted in a compromise deal so England's centrally-contracted players could feature in the lucrative Twenty20 competition.

They will be able to play for three weeks in April before returning to feature in the Test series against West Indies starting at Lord's on May 7, while other English players may be given as much as a month out in India.

The deal will also provide players such as Nottinghamshire all-rounder Patel crucial exposure to the world's top cricketers in preparation for the ICC World Twenty20 being staged in England from June 5-21.

"In home conditions and with our knowledge of the pitches I think we've got a good chance," claimed Patel, 24, who was only given his international debut six months ago but has featured in their last 11 one-day internationals.

"Doing our homework is going to be crucial and I think playing in the IPL and playing more Twenty20 cricket will make us better cricketers in that format.

"If we're looking to try and win this tournament and really go for it then playing in the IPL will be a great warm-up for us to know what we need to do to be ready for this tournament because teams are going to be better now because they're all playing more Twenty20 cricket."

Patel made his one-day international debut six months ago and has played 11 games

England's attempt to win the inaugural World Twenty20 tournament in South Africa two winters ago ended in failure; they exited at the group stages after choosing several Twenty20 specialists.

This time, however, the players are likely to be better prepared if they have several weeks warming up for the tournament in the IPL.

Patel has been registered as part of the IPL players' auction in Goa on February 6 by Delhi, although any of the franchises could bid for his services if they choose.

If Delhi are successful with their bid for him, he would join an impressive rostra of world-class players which he believes could be invaluable to his preparation for the World Twenty20 event.

"They've got players like Sehwag, (Gautam) Gambhir, (Glenn) McGrath and (Daniel) Vettori so it could be absolutely brilliant for me," he admitted.

"They can only play four overseas players at a time, but just being around them will be great.

"Talking cricket to guys like these will be a massive learning curve for me and hopefully I can bring what I learn back to England and go forward into the World Twenty20 tournament and help us go all the way to the final at Lord's."

Patel was talking at the launch of a further batch of tickets for the tournament at Trent Bridge today after the initial allocation sold out last June.

The organisers have released a new batch to allow fans of the associate countries - Ireland, Scotland and Holland - to attend the tournament with matches taking place at Lord's, the Oval and Trent Bridge.