Graeme Swann furious with English cricketers choosing IPL over national duties

Former English spinner, Graeme Swann, is annoyed at English cricketers choosing the Indian Premier League over national commitments. On Friday afternoon, England is hosting the Irishmen for an ODI series at the moment. But three of England’s prominent limited-overs cricketers, Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, are miles away from England, training with their respective IPL sides in India.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has come out with a very different approach for the IPL this year. They have encouraged the players to get in the annual fiesta of cricket extravaganza in order to gain some much-needed experience of playing in sub-continental conditions. For this, they have decided not to include star all-rounders Stokes and Woakes and wicketkeeper- batsman Buttler in the side that will be playing 2 ODI’s against Ireland.

Though Ireland may not be an outfit that can capitalise on the absence of the three major players, but no one has forgotten what happened in the World Cup 2011 in India. It remains yet to be seen how the English team fares in absence of three vital cogs of the team, former English spinner Graeme Swann thinks they should be at the County Ground in Bristol, proudly wearing the Blue Jersey, rather than being in India.

Stokes, who is the highest paid player in this year’s IPL, receiving a whopping 14.5 crore Rupees from the Sanjiv Goenka owned franchise, Rising Pune Supergiant, is in the form of his life. RPS is sitting comfortably in the third position of the League table of the IPL after a bad start, owing a lot to the exceptional performances of their allrounder day in day out, both with the bat and bowl.

Woakes, who is also playing his debut IPL this year, has been very good with the ball in hand for the two-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders, who are currently seated at the 2nd position of the table. Hard-hitting opening batsman, Jos Buttler of the of Mumbai Indians, is also having a good IPL, as a result of which Mumbai are placed at the top of the table.

It may be a coincidence that the teams of these three English cricketers are placed at first, second and third in the group table, but there is no doubt that they can win the game single-handedly on their day.

Graeme Swann, who is commentating in the game between England and Ireland, said it is hugely disappointing that the players have ignored national duties to play in the cash-rich league. According to Swann, this might encourage the tradition of skipping national duties for playing in IPL amongst the future English cricketers. BBC Test Match Special in a tweet quoted him saying, “It’s hugely disappointing. It sets a dangerous precedent.”

The tweet has created a turmoil on the micro-blogging website, dividing the English supporters into two groups, one which supports their players playing in IPL, and the other which agrees with Swann’s opinion.

The former group has justified their point-of-view by stating that there is enough talent in the field to win the game against a weak opponent like Ireland. So it is only justifiable for the players to stay in India and gain experience, which will be beneficial for them in the long run.

Here are some replies to Swann’s statement from Twitterati: