Andrew Strauss opens doors, England players get IPL go ahead
For the first time, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has shown a positive approach towards the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Andrew Strauss saying he’s ready to allow England cricketers to participate in the Indian T20 league. At the same time, however, the director of England cricket sounded a note of caution, saying the Test team should not be “weakened”.
He urged “more separation” of the squads for longer and shorter formats to strike a balance. The development was welcomed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as it feels arrival of the England cricketers would positively contribute to the Indian Premier League.
According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, Strauss is open to players “skipping future Test series” to take part in the IPL. This is in accordance with the ECB’s initiative to raise standards of the team in limited-overs cricket.
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England have been poor in the shorter formats, losing to the Netherlands in the World T20 in 2014. They were also knocked out of the 50-overs World Cup earlier this year by Bangladesh.
With the next World T20 due in four months, Strauss reportedly said he was ready for “hard decisions”. England also look forward to start their preparations for the 2019 World Cup in earnest, a tournament they would be hosting.
“The great thing about going to those tournaments is that you go as an overseas player, so you’re under pressure to perform and win games of cricket. That’s exactly what we want our players to do. Thirty-eight of the 44 players involved in the semi-finals of the World Cup had IPL experience. We should seek further opportunities to get our guys in there,” Strauss was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.
The Indian cricket board agrees. “That’s a positive for the IPL (if England players are allowed to join) and also for cricketers globally,” IPL governing council member Ajay Shirke told The Indian Express.
Only a handful of England players like Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen are among the regulars in the IPL.
The latter — England cricket’s persona non grata — has constantly urged the ECB to change its stand and create a window for the England players to participate in the IPL. In fact, a large chunk of England cricketers don’t like missing out on the most high-profile T20 league.
“People love them and the players enjoy playing in them, so there are going to be more and more people getting frustrated at the lack of opportunity to play in the IPL,” former England stumper Matt Prior had said. Top England players like Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad attract interest from the IPL franchises but their unavailability for the entire tournament has proved to be a stumbling block.
However, during an interview with the BBC Test Match Special, Strauss spoke about how “more separation” of the Test and ODI teams will improve England’s chances of “winning the World Cup”.
This, though, is going to be a tricky equation. Nine of the 15 players in the England ODI squad for the ongoing series against Pakistan in the UAE also featured in the Test team. England’s next international summer begins with two Test matches against Sri Lanka in May. The schedule clashes with the IPL and it would be interesting to see how Strauss finds a solution.
