London, Dec 9 (Inditop.com) There will not be too many top England players in action for the third season of the Indian Premier League next year.
The third IPL runs between March 12 and April 25 and England players will once again be busy with their international schedule.
England’s Test players would miss the first 12 days due to their tour of Bangladesh. They are also scheduled to join the England squad in the West Indies on April 25 to prepare for the World Twenty20.
Sean Morris, who joined the Rajasthan Royals last week after leaving his post as chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association in October, said it will be difficult for the IPL franchisees to have the players just for a handful of matches.
“I don’t think there will be that many more England players involved (in IPL),” Morris was quoted as saying in Daily Telegraph Wednesday.
“I think teams have worked out that consistency in selection throughout the tournament is key and to have Australian or English players coming and going doesn’t necessarily make for the best structure of a side.”
Last year, Morris had negotiated a three-week IPL window for the English players with the England and Wales Cricket Board.
But he now believes that window is too short and will harm the earning potential of players such as Stuart Broad and James Anderson.
Broad’s agent, Craig Sackfield, said he will decide this week whether to play in the third IPL.
Morris said it is pretty difficult for the English guys to go for the maximum amount of money at the auction.
“It will be interesting to see how their availability is reflected in the auction prices.”
Though Morris believes the IPL door may remain closed to some England players, the fact that Pakistan cricketers have failed to obtain visas to play in India next year may make them attractive to franchise owners.
Morris is to broaden the fan base of Rajasthan Royals outside India, which may mean more matches abroad, similar to the one the Royals played against Middlesex last year.
“There is quite a lot of desire for the Royals to go and play, and in two days I have already had two invitations to play in tournaments in other parts of the world,” Morris said.
“But it is going to be hard for us because we have not got the window that people have been banging on about. It makes the player who has just retired a bit more valuable and sides will become more attracted to players like Andrew Flintoff. Those players who are now aged 30 or 31 are thinking quite hard about it (retiring).”