Massive jolt to franchises as England players likely to miss business end of Indian T20 League – Reports

England Test players are set to miss the business end of the Indian T20 League (ITL) this year. Although the schedule is yet to be announced, it is believed that the tournament will start on March 27 and will conclude at the end of May. England will play the three-match series against Test Champions New Zealand from June 2nd thus ECB is mulling over calling their Test players back midway from the tournament.

According to the reports in Cricbuzz, the franchises have already been informed that England players will not be available for the latter stages of the tournament. A total of 30 English players have been included in the auction. Players such as Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Jos Buttler, etc will play the league. Buttler has been retained by the Rajasthan franchise.

The three-lions had a disastrous Ashes tour in Australia by 0-4 after which there has been a rise in demand to revamp Test cricket. ECB and players have been accused of prioritising shorter formats.

Former England cricketer Michael Atherton had said that players should not be allowed to play in T20 League at the cost of national duties. “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. Players should not miss international duty to play in the IPL, nor be rested and rotated to allow them to play elsewhere. The carry-on during the winter, and at the start of the English summer, should not happen again,” said Michael Atherton