England planning to restrict players' participation in IPL amid Ashes humiliation: Report

Following their catastrophic defeat in the Ashes series, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are reportedly considering imposing restrictions on England players' participation in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The ECB are undertaking a complete investigation of England's Ashes defeat in Australia, according to the Times, and managing director Ashley Giles is compiling a report to highlight measures to improve England's performance in the longest format. According to the article, the ECB intend to limit England players' participation in the IPL to the first few weeks.

ECB plan move to save Test cricket 

Several of England's top players, including Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, and Chris Woakes, were given a break from the home Test series against New Zealand last year to participate in the IPL in India. England fell 1-0 against the Kiwis in the two-match series with key players absent. The ECB now want to limit the involvement of its players in the IPL to just the first few weeks as the tournament is expected to once again clash with England's home Test series against New Zealand later this year. 

Last year, media reports emerged suggesting that the ECB had ordered its players to skip the second half of the IPL in order to be fully fit for the T20 World Cup that was scheduled immediately after the conclusion of the franchise competition. Several England players, including England's white-ball captain Eoin Morgan, were observed participating in the second half of the cash-rich league despite ECB's request. Morgan described the opportunity as practice time ahead of the marquee ICC event.

Only two Englishmen, Jos Buttler, and Moeen Ali, have been retained by their respective franchises for the next edition of the IPL. The rest of England's players, including Morgan, who led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the IPL 2021 final, have been assigned to their respective franchises ahead of February's blockbuster auction. According to the article, if more England players are selected in the auction, the ECB may ask its cricketers to cut their vacation to India short so that they may return in time to play a couple of first-class games before the home Test series against New Zealand.

Image: IPL/Twitter/ECB