England players will be staying back for the whole IPL as it stands: Chris Silverwood

Chris Silverwood, the England head coach, has revealed that the English players would be staying back for the final stages of the Indian Premier League (IPL) if need be. It means that a few of the Brits’ cricketers would miss out on the opening Test against New Zealand, scheduled to get underway on June 2 at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.

On Sunday, March 7, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed the IPL schedule with the playoffs taking place on May 25, 26, and 28 and the final scheduled for May 30. Out of the 13 cricketers who would be plying their trade in the IPL, seven were picked for the Test series against India and Sri Lanka.

Even as Silverwood accepted that playing for one’s country is a ‘big thing’, he also stated that ‘it’s difficult to change anything’ regarding the cash-rich IPL. Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, and Ben Stokes are among the major players, who would be the star attractions in the T20 tournament.

Chris Silverwood opens up

“We haven’t looked at selection or anything like that for the Tests yet, but, for me, playing for your country is a big thing. It’s difficult to change anything so they’ll be staying for the whole IPL as it stands, yes.

“Listen, we’ll be looking at the Test series and working our way back to see what sort of preparation we need and we haven’t done that at this time. It’s something we will be doing,” Silverwood was quoted as saying in Cricbuzz.

Recently, England lost the four-match series to India 1-3 after taking a 1-0 lead following a win in the opening Test at the Chepauk. During the series, the Three Lions’ resorted to their rotational policy, a move that seemed to have backfired. However, Silverwood doesn’t seem to have any regrets.

“The rotation system, I’m happy with that. You look at the amount of cricket that we’ve played and the amount we have in front of us, we have got to be proactive in looking after our players, making sure we keep them as fresh as possible so we can keep them going as long as possible,” he added.