Counties need to be more open minded about the IPL, says David Willey

David Willey's contract with Yorkshire was under threat of being cancelled recently.

David Willey (Getty)

England left-arm seamer David Willey has come out and expressed the need for counties to be more flexible when it comes to the allowance for their local players to play in the lucrative Indian Premier League in India. Willey recently went through issues with Yorkshire, where his contract domestically was under threat of being cancelled, as he played for Chennai Super Kings this year. 

Willey was recently quoted saying about the matter as, "I think the landscape of the modern game is changing and I do think that counties should try and work with it rather than work against it and look at the longer term picture, Ultimately, you would think that their counties will benefit from it whether it be immediately that summer when they come back and contribute to winning games or whether they go on and help develop youngsters down the line"

"There is no better way for young guys to learn than to play with experienced guys who have played all around the world. If counties had that outward look at these competitions as a longer term benefit it would be better for everyone involved. There would be less arguments and fallouts along the way. You don't get the chance to go and play in the biggest T20 competition in the world everyday so it was a no brainer for me."

Willey further talked about his invaluable experience of playing in the IPL and said, "It was a great experience to be a part of, having the chance to see how these great internationals of past and present go about their cricket and how they structure their game for T20. I feel like not only have I found my enjoyment for the game again, I've also learnt a lot from a tactical, mental and skill point of view as well."

He is delighted to have played alongside MS Dhoni and said, "I learnt just as much from watching guys like him as I did from the few games I played in, How calm he is and how he thinks about the game when he is batting was great to learn from. Things like that are invaluable when you are learning about the game."

(Inputs from Cricbuzz)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 15 Jun, 2018

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