David Willey, the England all-rounder, has revealed that Yorkshire had threatened to ‘rip up’ his county contract when he missed the start of the County Championship season after signing a late IPL deal.
Willey, who signed a one-year contract extension with Yorkshire recently, was bought by Chennai Super Kings as an injury replacement for Kedar Jadhav, becoming the 12th English cricketer – not counting Jofra Archer – to be a part of the tournament. He played three games for Chennai, who won the title.
“I was threatened with them ripping my contract up – which wasn’t great – but that’s been resolved now,” said Willey.
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Willey has recently signed a one-year contract extension with Yorkshire [/caption]
Willey said his decision to play in the IPL was a ‘no-brainer’, adding that the counties should try to look at the “longer-term picture”.
“It was a no-brainer. You don’t get the chance to go and play in the biggest Twenty20 competition in the world every day,” argued Willey, the limited-overs man with 36 ODI and 20 T20I appearances.
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When Willey said yes to Chennai, leaving a Yorkshire pre-season friendly in Leicester on April 9, his county wasn’t pleased. Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s Director of Cricket, had expressed his displeasure, saying, “I will be calling for the introduction of a cut-off date, after which players will not be allowed to go to the IPL. Hopefully this can gain national approval and be supported by the ECB.”
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Martyn Moxon had expressed his displeasure when Willey agreed to the IPL deal[/caption]
Willey, now part of the England team that’s playing Australia in an ODI series at home, said the counties must expand their horizons.
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“I think the landscape of the modern game is changing, and I do think counties should try and work with it rather than work against it – and look at the longer-term picture,” he said.
“I think if counties had that outward look at these competitions as a longer-term benefit, it would be better for everyone involved. There would be less arguments and fall-outs along the way. I may not be around as much as Yorkshire would like at the minute, but I see myself as having a long-term benefit to the county I’m at.”
