The IPL 2022 might not see much sheen of England players as already many huge stars have decided to opt-out of the tournament citing various reasons. And now reports have suggested that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) might also play spoilsport.
Cricbuzz reports have said that the ECB is expected to pull out the England players who will be part of the three-Test series against New Zealand at home out of the later stages of IPL 2022 in order to give them some time to prepare for the series which kicks off the home summer.
22 English players have registered for the mega IPL auction, including several who have been in England's recent Test plans. Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood, Dawid Malan, Ollie Pope, Craig Overton, Sam Billings, and Dan Lawrence were all part of the Ashes squad and are currently on the auction list.
Jos Buttler has already been retained by Rajasthan Royals although Joe Root, Sam Curran, Ben Stokes, and Chris Woakes have already ruled themselves out of the IPL 2022.
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Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, said English cricket needed to go through a red-ball "re-set" in order to try and improve the fortunes of the faltering Test team. And this might mean ECB curtailing the players’ sojourn in the Indian Premier League.
Cricbuzz has reported that several Indian Premier League franchises have been notified by the ECB that they should be ready to lose England players before the conclusion of the IPL 2022 in order for them to prepare for the New Zealand Test series at home.
The opening Test against New Zealand begins on June 2 at Lord's ground and although the dates for the IPL 2022 have yet to be officially confirmed, it is likely that the tournament will begin on March 27 and run until late May, just a few days before the first Test begins. The IPL 2022 will feature 74 matches thanks to the addition of two new teams in the mix.
In case the England players play the entire IPL 2022 season, they are certain to miss the Lord’s Test and will certainly not have enough time to switch from T20 to Test format.
(Cricbuzz inputs)
