Sam Billings, England
wicketkeeper-batter, hailed Indian Premier League (IPL) as the biggest domestic
tournament in the world. The IPL 2022 is set to start on March 26 in Mumbai.
The Kent player lavished praise on IPL and said players want to come to India
because of the buzzing atmosphere created by the enthusiastic fans.

Also Read: IPL 2022: Ravichandran Ashwin ‘hoping to make a difference’ for Rajasthan Royals

“I think the IPL is the biggest
domestic tournament in the world. You don’t need to say anything more than
that. It’s my sixth year and absolutely love playing over here in India,”
Billings said in a video uploaded on Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) social media handles.

Also Read: IPL 2022: SWOT analysis of Kolkata Knight Riders

“I think the support, the fans
take it to a completely different dimension to any other sport in the world.
You’ve got 1.2 billion people or so. And everyone absolutely loves cricket. So
it’s a pleasure for players to play here. It’s an honour to play here,” added
Billings, who so far played 37 T20Is for England.

Also Read: ‘He is one of the best T20 players’: Sangakkara hails Indian cricketer before IPL 2022

IPL is by far the richest and
biggest franchise-based T20 tournament in the world, with players from across
the world joining the players’ draft to get picked in the auction and then
hundreds of the players playing in the two-month-long tournament.

Last season BCCI secretary Jay
Shah revealed that the first phase of IPL 2021 (April 9- May 4) garnered 380
million television viewers.

Also Read: From Wankhede to DY Patil: All about stadiums hosting IPL 2022

Billings, who earlier played for
Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings, will play for Kolkata Knight Riders
(KKR) this season after the franchise bought him on his base price of Rs 2
crore.

Billings has played 19 matches in
IPL and scored 334 runs at a strike rate of 133.6. The keeper-batter is likely
to keep a vigil eye behind the stumps. 

Saurashtra player Sheldon Jackson
is another option available for last season’s runners-up KKR.

Also Read: From Wankhede to DY Patil: All about stadiums hosting IPL 2022

KKR will play the season opener
against defending champions CSK on March 26 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The IPL 2022 is a 74-match tournament, and it will be played at Wankhede Stadium, Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai and MCA Stadium in Pune.