Nasser Hussain blasts England team for prioritizing IPL over Test cricket in 'Unique Year'

The Joe Root-led England side won the first Test of their series in India by 227 runs. However, they squandered their early lead by losing the next three matches with heavy margins to concede the series 3-1 to the hosts. Former England captain Nasser Hussain recently criticised the English team management for their rotation policy and some of the players for not prioritising Tests in a “unique year”.

India vs England: Nasser Hussain lauds Rishabh Pant, slams England players

In his column for the Daily Mail, Nasser Hussain wrote that he understands that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are looking after their players by resting and rotating them. However, he is of the opinion that this is not the time they should be rotating, considering the English players are playing Test series in India as well as in Australia in the same year. The cricketer-turned-commentator believes Jos Buttler should have played all four matches in India, as opposed to just playing the series-opening game at Chennai.

Nasser Hussain stated that much like Rishabh Pant, who played a match-winning innings in Ahmedabad, Jos Buttler was also capable of having the same impact for the visitors. Hussain was of the opinion that Buttler being rested just ahead of the limited-overs matches “just doesn’t look right”.

The former England captain also discussed in length about the schedule of multi-contracted players who play all formats and also compete in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for their franchises. Players like Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jofra Archer are just to name a few among a pantheon of English stars who play all international formats of the game.

Referring to ECB’s support in allowing England’s multi-contracted players to play in foreign leagues like IPL, Nasser Hussain wrote that such players should also support ECB back by putting Tests first. He added that players should realise that this is a “unique year” and they should somewhat focus on Test cricket as well. He is of the opinion that England created their own problems for themselves by losing the series 3-1 against the “best” team in “their own conditions”.

India vs England limited-overs series and IPL 2021

England’s tour of India will now continue with the first match in a five-match T20I series in Ahmedabad. The match will be played on March 12. The two teams will then shift to Pune for three ODIs before players will start joining their respective franchises for the IPL 2021 season.

The IPL 2021 season is scheduled to commence from April 9 onwards in Chennai with a match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Here is a look at the entire schedule for the IPL 2021 season.

Image source: AP and ECB Twitter