IPL Is Great But....: Chris Woakes Reveals Reason Behind Skipping IPL 2020

Updated - 11 Mar 2020, 09:40 AM

Chris Woakes (Credits: Twitter)

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Days after announcing his decision to pull out from the upcoming season of the IPL, England star Chris Woakes has opened up on the reason that convinced him to give up on the lucrative prospect. The England allrounder was set to ply his trade for Delhi Capitals in the thirteenth edition of the league.

Having previously played for Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chris Woakes signed with Delhi Capitals for £160,000 in this year’s IPL draft. The 31-year old revealed that he pulled out of the competition after realising that he had fallen down the pecking order of selection prospects for the looming T20 World Cup.

He also said that while playing IPL is great, playing for England is the pinnacle for him. Spending time with family is another reason that convinced Chris Woakes to give up on IPL this year.

“I want to play for England as long as possible – that’s still the pinnacle for me,” Chris Woakes told reporters in Sri Lanka, where England are preparing for a two-Test series beginning in Galle on March 19.

“I just feel like I’d been on a bit of a treadmill and I needed to get off for a bit of a breather. From a mental point of view it’s about recharging those batteries.

“The IPL is great but I’ve been there and done it. That’s not to say I don’t want to do it again but at this moment England is the most important thing to me, as well as spending time at home with the family where I can,” he added.

He further said that he has realised it would be tough for him to get a place in England’s squad for this year’s T20 World Cup in England. While he remains a key member of England’s ODI and Test set-up, he has not played a T20I since 2015. He also said that falling down in pecking order in T20Is might have extended his international career.

“If I felt like I had real good opportunity to be in that T20 squad I’d probably still go to IPL and try to produce some good form,” he said. “They (the selectors) know what I’m about and what I can do but realistically it’d probably take a few injuries for me to be in contention.

“I suppose I don’t know the answer to why that happened. I think it happened gradually. The 50-over World Cup was prioritised, which was right, and during that period I was rested during a lot of T20 series. Would I want to change that or have it any other way? No, because it meant that I focused more on 50-over cricket and that has made me a World Cup winner – you can’t take that away.

“Hopefully I’ve extended my career rather than trying to spread it across all three formats.”