ECB boss wants players to prioritise national team: Nick Knight on England cricketers opting out of IPL lately

Something is brewing behind the scenes in England cricket. Despite the IPL and the BCCI listing out repercussions for those opting out of a season if not injured or for unavoidable reasons, England star batter Harry Brook pulled out of the ongoing 18th edition to prioritise the national team, thus facing a two-year ban. Former opener Nick Knight explains why English cricketers have lately begun pulling their names out of the cash-rich league.

It’s not the first time England players have pulled their names out of the IPL. Brook decided to pull out last year, although for personal reasons, while several top English cricketers, including Joe Root and Ben Stokes, decided against registering for the IPL auction. However, Brook and seamer Brydon Carse will not feature in IPL 2025, with only ten players from England participating.

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Cramped schedule, and its side effects

Considering the jam-packed international calendar, with all boards trying to protect their all-format players, the ECB is not behind, trying to keep their best players safeguarded from exertion. The ECB is doing everything to ensure their top cricketers pick playing for the national team ahead of participating in such lucrative leagues worldwide.

With England hosting India for five Tests right after the IPL and later travelling Down Under for the marquee away Ashes, ECB chief Robert Key wants all its players fit and available for selection; Knight feels there's nothing wrong with that.

"Rob Key, who is in charge back at the ECB, has basically tried to - and he's fairly right - encouraged his players to play as much for England [as possible]," Nick Knight said on ESPNcricinfo's T20 TimeOut show.

"They've got a five-Test series against India. They've got an Ashes to follow. They've got multi-format players, like Harry Brook and Mark Wood - they're pretty well looked after now. And they're going to have to be looked after.

"There's a bit of that influence. So they perhaps don't need to travel and play in all these leagues around the world. There are other leagues popping up as well. If you're not going to get the full price [at the IPL auctions] that perhaps you might want to get, you might want to play in another league. So there are a number of these sorts of factors flying around for some of these players,” he continued.

Meanwhile, the ten English players to feature this season are - Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Phil Salt and Reece Topley.

Although Delhi Capitals approached opener Ben Duckett as Brook’s replacement, the English batter decided to stay away.

(With inputs from agencies)