Former captain Geoffrey Boycott is not impressed with England cricketers’ decision to prioritize the Indian Premier League over national duty. Recently, England head coach Chris Silverwood confirmed that a majority of English cricketers may miss out playing the Test series against New Zealand starting June 2 due to their commitments in the IPL, which ends on May 30. Boycott feels this attitude should not be tolerated and has suggested that the ECB should dock money should players give precedence to IPL than playing for England.
“England messed up with a rotation policy in India and must stop treating players in a namby-pamby way,” Boycott wrote in the Daily Telegraph. “Players seem to forget the IPL would not come calling for them if they had not performed for England first. So, they owe a debt of gratitude and loyalty to put England first. I would never stop them from earning that but not by missing games for England to do it.”
Several England cricketers, including Ali, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Sam Curran and others are scheduled to play the 2021 edition for the IPL for their respective franchises, and Boycott reckons those who give the T20 tournament a nod ahead of playing for their country should be ‘ashamed’.
“But I bet you will not see any of our players leaving the IPL because they miss their wife, girlfriend or kids. If players want to go home for a break from England duty, dock their money. Better still don’t select them unless they can agree to be available for a whole series. It is a barmy way to run English cricket, they should all be ashamed and embarrassed,” Boycott added.
