'Was this extras guy unavailable due to IPL' - Wasim Jaffer takes dig at Michael Vaughan as England's horror run in Tests continues

Former Indian batter Wasim Jaffer and ex-England captain Michael Vaughan have been involved in a lot of humorous conversations on social media and this time it was Jaffer’s turn to pull the legs of Vaughan, following England’s poor performance against the West Indies. While there were many debates over IPL being a root cause of England’s dismal performance in the Ashes last year, Joe Root and Ben Stokes pulled out of the tournament this year to train hard in the red-ball format.

Moreover, ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) made changes in the management by sacking Chris Silverwood while the experienced duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad was dropped for the West Indies Tests. Despite all that, England suffered another series defeat at the hands of the West Indies in the three-match series and are reeling at the bottom of the World Test Championship table 2021-23 with just one win in 12 games.

Wasim Jaffer pulls Michael Vaughan’s leg

Meanwhile, Jaffer posted an image of the most run-scorers for England in this year, and interestingly, the third-most runs for the Joe Root-led side had come from extras. The 44-year-old questioned Vaughan sarcastically if the ‘Extra’s player’ was unavailable for the West Indies Tests due to the IPL, referring to the early debates over the cash-rich tournament having an influence on England’s poor performance.

‘England 120 all out! What happened @MichaelVaughan; was this Extras guy unavailable due to IPL or what? #WIvENG #IPL2022,’ Jaffer tweeted.

With the first two Tests drawn, England lost the toss and was put in to bat first by the West Indies in Grenada. England could manage only 204 in their first innings despite a tenth-wicket partnership of 90 runs, while the West Indies took a lead of 95 runs by posting 297 in their first innings. In the third innings, the visitors suffered yet another batting collapse and were bundled out for 120, setting a small target of just 28 to win for the hosts. The Kraigg Braithwaite led-side won the game comfortably with ten wickets in hand and sealed the series 1-0.