England stars missed the latter stages of the IPL after they returned home to play a four-match T20I series against Pakistan.
England and Pakistan are preparing for the 2024 T20 World Cup by facing each other in a four-match T20I series. However, the preparations have been hampered somewhat with two of the three matches that have taken place thus far being washed out. The second T20I, the only game in the series that could take place thus far, was a rather one-sided affair with England comfortably winning it by 23 runs.
While much of the league stage of the tournament was done, captain Jos Buttler, Will Jacks, Phil Salt and Reece Topley could have all played a part in the playoffs
England pulled their players out of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) for playing in this series. While much of the league stage of the tournament was done, captain Jos Buttler, Will Jacks, Phil Salt and Reece Topley could have all played a part in the playoffs. In the case of Salt, he could have played in the final as well, where his side Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to win their third IPL title. Former England captain Michael Vaughan said that playing in the high pressure environment of the IPL playoffs would have been better preparation for the players instead of playing a T20I series at home against Pakistan.
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The comment caused a bit of a stir among Pakistan fans but former wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal has now said that he agrees with Vaughan, even though his opinion is a “painful” one. “Over the past few days, I have wondered why a former England captain is commenting and taking Pakistan cricket non-seriously. It has been a painful thought, but I think he was correct in his assessment,” Akmal said on his YouTube channel.
“Everybody knows the level of Pakistan cricket. We are losing against smaller teams like Ireland and in that sense Vaughan said that it is not a tough series. So the fault is ours. Had it been any other team like New Zealand, South Africa and India then Vaughan would not have said it,” he added. “We need to understand that in IPL, the best bowlers and batters are participating with crowds of 40 to 50,000. So it is tough cricket and quality cricket,” he explained.
The absence of England players made a significant difference to the IPL teams with Rajasthan Royals missing the services of Buttler at the top of the order. KKR also missed the solidity provided by Salt and Sunil Narine at the top of the order. Jacks played a significant role in RCB’s extraordinary revival in the league stage.
