England Could Lose Their Best Players In The Future If They Are Not Allowed To Play In The IPL: Ashley Giles

English Cricket could lose its marquee players in the long-run if it does not allows them to participate in the Indian Premier League [IPL], feels England director of cricket, Ashley Giles.

Ashley Giles made his comments during his recent visit to the BBC’s ‘Tuffers and Vaughan’s show’, where he said while England players still love representing their country, English cricket can’t go ‘toe-to-toe’ with them over IPL participation as it could result in them losing players in the future.

England rested their players throughout their winter tours of Sri Lanka and India in a bid to manage their workload due to hectic International schedules and quarantine requirements.

But the same players have been allowed to feature in the upcoming IPL.

“Right now I think our players love playing for England,” Ashley Giles said. I don’t want that to be a kiss of death. I think we have to understand that it could be a danger in the future,” he added.

“We don’t particularly want to go toe-to-toe with our players over IPL participation in the long run because we may face losing some of our best players.” he added.

The participation of England players in the Indian Premier League has always been a subject of intense discussions in English cricketing circles. Since the 2015 World Cup debacle, the ECB has softened its stance and has allowed players to participate in the cash-rich league.

The IPL has been hailed as one of the reasons behind England’s white-ball revolution but English players have never missed a Test match due to their commitment to the lucrative T20 competition.

This could well be the case this time around if the likes of Rajasthan Royals, which has a majority of England Test players, manage to reach the playoffs.

However, Ashley Giles added that the IPL-bound players had already signed contracts with their franchise for their full availability before the New Zealand Tests were announced.

“That window was clear for anyone who got to the later stages of IPL to play in the whole competition,” Ashley Giles said. ”That is how their contracts were agreed. We don’t think it is right to renege on that agreement,” he added.

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