Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], February 18 (ANI): England batsman Jonny Bairstow on Thursday said that it is indeed difficult for the players to turn down big money that can be offered by playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
England’s squad was named for the third and fourth Test after the result of the second Test, and it was revealed that Moeen Ali will head back home. This is all a part of ECB’s rotation policy.
This rotation policy has already seen Jos Buttler going back home after the first Test. Jonny Bairstow also missed the first two Tests against India as per the rotation policy. However, former England cricketers like Sir Ian Botham, Kevin Pietersen, and Michael Vaughan have criticised this rotation policy employed by the Three Lions.
“Look, I think it is part and parcel of the game. There are guys who have white-ball contracts and red-call contracts and then there are those who have both. I think guys who have white-ball format will want to go to the IPL and you cannot tell them don’t go. When it comes to resting, if you are asking people to be away from home from Jan 2-March 29 and to be in bubbles, at some point, people are going to need rest, that’s where the coaching staff has decided to give players rest,” said Bairstow during a virtual press conference on Thursday.
“Mentally, we have to stay as fresh as we can. We have been staying in hotels and we cannot leave, it is taxing and it is about staying fresh to produce the best on the pitch. When you are talking about the kind of money the likes of Kyle Jamieson, Chris Morris have got, it is hard to turn it down, it can be hard for anybody to turn it down. I do not believe there are any priorities, if you look at our away record, we have won six of our last seven Tests away from home, these results do not come by prioritising one format of the game,” he added.
In the ongoing IPL players’ auction, Chris Morris became the most expensive foreign player in history as he purchased for Rs 16.25 crore by Rajasthan Royals. Kiwi all-rounder Kyle Richardson was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 15 crore.
“It is difficult, I lost my red-ball contract last year. As you said, I wanted to play Test cricket, I went to Sri Lanka to play the Test matches and I did not turn up for Big Bash League. That’s the nature of the sport at the moment, there is a reason I went to Sri Lanka and I am here in India to play Test cricket,” said Bairstow.
When probed about whether he would leave IPL playoffs for the New Zealand Tests, Bairstow said: “I do not know the dates of the IPL playoffs and I do not know the dates of New Zealand Test matches, so cannot say anything at this moment. I am lucky enough to be playing all three formats of the game.
England squad for last two Tests: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
India achieved an emphatic 317-run win against England in the second Test of the ongoing four-match series. As a result, the series stands level at 1-1 and the Virat Kohli-led side has also reached the second spot in World Test Championship (WTC) standings. Ravichandran Ashwin took an eight-wicket haul in the second Test, along with his 106-run knock in the second innings as India registered an emphatic 317-run win here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
India remains in contention to make the final of the ICC World Test Championship after completing an impressive victory over England in the second Test to draw level in the four-match series.
The victory in Chennai on Tuesday has lifted India to the second position with 69.7 percentage points on the points table but they cannot afford to lose another match as they need to win 2-1 or 3-1 to qualify for the final of the maiden edition of the championship.
England, who led the table after winning the opening Test, has slipped to the fourth spot with 67.0 percentage points. They can still qualify, but for that, they must win both remaining matches of the series against India. (ANI)