Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 17 (ANI): England head coach Chris Silverwood on Wednesday admitted that it is indeed difficult to tell the players to not play the Indian Premier League (IPL) in order to remain fit for international fixtures.
The IPL 2021 is set to be played from April this year and a mini-auction would be held in Chennai on Thursday. The likes of Moeen Ali and Mark Wood are a part of the auction and it would be interesting to see whether the duo finds any takers or not.
“It is very difficult to say to the players that no you cannot play the IPL. You cannot say no if you just see the numbers. IPL is a marquee cricket event in the world and so it’s very difficult. I don’t think it is an issue because players are playing a fantastic high level of T20 cricket which can only benefit us really. Moving forward it benefits the player. Obviously, players make their own minds up about competitions they go in but we benefit from their playing,” said Silverwood during a virtual press conference.
When asked whether he would be affected if the likes of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler are not available for the New Zealand Tests due to IPL, he replied: “I am totally at peace with it. Just to reiterate Test cricket remains the priority at least to me. It gives an opportunity to people. It’s exciting for me to see people make debuts, see people do well. As I said, I see the exciting side about it.”
Silverwood also said that being picked in IPL helps players in getting acclimatised with the sub-continent conditions and they can perform better in the international arena with the experience of the conditions behind them.
“No, I want them to do well, supportive of the decision they make really. If they are picked, it will be brilliant and I can only wish that they do well, get knowledge of conditions and improve as players,” said Silverwood.
England’s squad was named for the third and fourth Test after the result of the second Test, and it was revealed that Moeen Ali will head back home. This is all a part of ECB’s rotation policy.
This rotation policy has already seen Jos Buttler going back home after the first Test. Jonny Bairstow also missed the first two Tests against India as per the rotation policy. However, former England cricketers like Sir Ian Botham, Kevin Pietersen, and Michael Vaughan have criticised this rotation policy employed by the Three Lions.
The visitors stumbled to a 317-run loss in the second Test against India, and now the series is levelled at 1-1. Both teams will now lock horns in the third Test, which will be a day-night contest, set to begin on February 24 at the Motera Stadium, Ahmedabad. (ANI)
