England head coach Chris Silverwood believes his players will once again benefit from a stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, Silverwood remains wary of burnout issue through the winter as English cricketers are set for another seven-week of high-intensity cricket within bio-secure arrangements after a busy international summer.
Ten England cricketers, including seven who were part of the recent limited-overs series in UK, reached UAE on Thursday (September 17) and will be allowed to join their respective teams and play after adhering to the necessary quarantine regulation and testing amid COVID-19 pandemic.
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Apart from the physical aspect, the mentally draining task of living secluded from the rest of the world for another two months is definitely not to be overlooked.
“It’s their decision really but we’ll have to keep an eye on them," PTI quoted Silverwood as saying. "Obviously, the contracts are good for them but equally as well we’re looking forward at a T20 World Cup. The more high-class T20 they can play will be a good thing for us."
“The one thing that I have encouraged is that they keep talking to us. We need to make sure that they don’t burn out as well."
Among the high profile signings, England skipper Eoin Morgan has returned to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who also had brought in promising youngster Tom Banton last auction.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) have three of England's 2019 World Cup winners, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, part of their first-choice XI.
Apart from them, Moeen Ali (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Jonny Bairstow (Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Sam Curran (Chennai Super Kings) are also set to feature in IPL 2020.
Archer, especially, had expressed issues living in the bubble for Test matches and said it's certainly tougher than it is for the one-dayers.
"Jofra’s found being locked up difficult at times," said Silverwood. "He’s not the only player, there’s been quite a few. We have to do it and I’m very proud of how the guys have dealt with it."
“It’s a juggling act of keeping people fresh in the mind. When people have asked to get out of the bubble, we’ve got them out. We said we would and we have. It’s a case of making sure we don’t burn people out."
(Inputs from PTI)
