Eoin Morgan, England captain (Photo Credit- The Sun)
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England captain Eoin Morgan lauded the IPL (Indian Premier League) as a successful tournament, as his team gears for the upcoming five-match T20I series against India which begins from March 12 and will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad.
The IPL 2021 will be played from April 9 onwards and will be organized across six cities- Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Chennai. The Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad will host the playoffs and the final of the tournament on May 30.
Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan. (Photo: BCCI)
The ECB will allow the 13 English players contracted to play in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) to participate in the entire tournament. They have even allowed the top stars to miss the first Test against New Zealand at home should their franchise still be in contention to win the IPL.
IPL Is Going Anywhere, It Has Been Beneficial For The England Players’ Development: Eoin Morgan
Many former England players had slammed ECB allowing its players to prioritizing T20 leagues over national duties. They were critical of England players choosing to play in IPL instead of coming home early and playing Tests.
Eoin Morgan (Image Credit: Twitter)
However, Eoin Morgan mentioned that the IPL is the biggest, most successful tournament in the world, and it’s not going away anywhere. He also said that the IPL has helped England players develop their game for the shortest format over the years.
“For a start, I don’t think the IPL is going anywhere – it’s the biggest, most successful tournament in the world. As a white-ball captain planning towards World Cups, certainly over the last five years, we’ve used it and benefitted from it hugely in the development of our players and the confidence that we’ve built in the changing room in guys like Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler going there and being MVP and bringing the knowledge that they’ve learnt into our changing room,” Morgan told Sky Sports Cricket’s, Michael Atherton.
Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, and Ben Stokes (Photo: RR Twitter)
“The international schedule is what it is – it seems to cater for the majority of the time in and around the IPL. We see other boards around the world almost opening that window as well,” he added.
England is the no.1 ranked T20 team in ICC rankings and India is at the second spot and the T20I series is crucial for both in building and finalizing squads for the T20 World Cup 2021 to be played in India.
Also Read: Eoin Morgan Is For England, What MS Dhoni Used To Be For India, Says Graeme Swann
