Senior New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor feels that the suspension of the IPL “played into India’s hands”, giving Virat Kohli's team more time to get acclimatised to English conditions before next month’s World Test Championship final.

The IPL, which was suspended earlier this month due to multiple cases of Covid-19 inside its bubble, was due to finish on May 30, while the WTC final between New Zealand and India is scheduled to start from June 18 in Southampton.

“For India, the IPL finishing early under unfortunate circumstances has probably played into their hands a little,” Taylor told reporters on Sunday.

“If the IPL would have gone on, they would have had a smaller preparation but now they will be a lot more conditioned, their bowlers will have their loads up,” the New Zealand batsman added.

However, Taylor reckons New Zealand will still have slight advantage over India as they are scheduled to play two Tests against England in the run-up to the WTC final.