ECB may barre England players from participating in Indian T20 League

Despite all the hype, the Ashes 2021-22 has turned out to be a rather one-sided affair. It is safe to say that England has been disappointing, to say the least. As a matter of fact, the Poms have been below-par in the longest format of the game for quite a while now.

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Thus, this had led to a serious question mark over the participation of English players in the Indian T20 League (ITL). The dismal performance in the Ashes 2021-22 down under has forced the ECB to conduct a full review into England’s defeat down under. According to a report by mirror.co.uk, Ashley Giles, who happens to be the director of cricket, would be preparing a report which will include several recommendations to improve the team’s fortunes in red-ball cricket. Among them, not allowing England players to participate in the Indian T20 league is one.

Over the years, several English players have shown interest in playing the biggest T20 league in the world, and have gone to represent various franchises in the tournament. However, the upcoming fifteenth edition of the league is all set to clash with the initial phase of England's summer. The ITL playoffs are going to coincide with their home series against New Zealand.

It has now been learned that the England players participating in the Indian T20 league will be asked to cut short their time in India so that they can feature in some domestic games, to prepare for the Test series against the Kiwis. Besides, former England cricketers have repeatedly criticized current players for prioritizing ITL over International games. Michael Atherton recently said the same as well.

“The leading multi-format players are paid seven-figure sums, but, incredibly, the ECB washes its hands of them for two months of the year during the Indian Premier League. The players should be told that, while the ECB will be accommodating of the request to play in IPL, a 12-month contract is exactly that, and the granting of a no-objection certificate to play in IPL and other franchised competitions is contingent on it being in the best interests of the England team," wrote Michael Atherton in his column for the Times.

While the ITL 2022 mega auction is all set to take place next month, Moeen Ali and Jos Buttler are the only English players who have been retained by their respective franchises. However, several of their players will do down the hammer this time around, and are expected to fetch big bucks in the upcoming auction.