Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen has been one of the most ardent fans of IPL cricket over the years. He has played the format for a couple of franchisees and was one of the very first top overseas buys in the league. After retiring from the game, he has been busy with commentary stints in the IPL and all over the world in international and franchise-based T20 cricket. He is expected to be one of the commentators in the upcoming edition of the IPL as well.
Kevin Pietersen through a tweet has urged the higher cricket authorities to not schedule any international cricket match while the IPL is on.
“Cricket boards need to realise that the @IPL is the biggest show in town. DO NOT schedule ANY international games whilst it’s on. V v v simple!,” Pietersen tweeted.
No International Cricket During IPL: Kevin Pietersen
https://twitter.com/KP24/status/1377961629187457024?s=20
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Pietersen’s tweet comes after several England cricketers were targeted for choosing IPL over international commitments. The likes of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali will all be playing in the IPL and skipping national commitments. The upcoming Test series against New Zealand starts fro June 2 a day after the conclusion of the upcoming IPL. If the teams they represent reach the business end of the T20 league, they either have to miss the finale or skip the national duty.
Director of the England and Wales Cricket Board, Ashley Giles has already said that the ECB will not force the English players to prefer national duty over IPL.
After repeated criticism on England players for choosing IP over cricket, England white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan has asked the top officials of cricket to concentrate on allowing players to play franchise cricket which he thinks is the future of cricket.
“Just having conversations out here about ‘The Hundred’, I know that there are Indian cricketers out here who would love to play in The Hundred and other competitions around the world,” Morgan told Sky Sports during an interaction but did not take any names.
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