Andy Flower has cautioned franchise leagues over scheduling tournaments close in proximity to international cricket and other leagues, stating that players leaving leagues midway through devalues competition integrity.
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The RCB head coach was speaking in a post match press conference after his side were knocked out of the 2024 IPL in the Eliminator by Rajasthan Royals. Several international sides have recalled their players from the latter stages of the IPL due to its proximity to the T20 World Cup. Most notably, England recalled all of their players involved in the T20 World Cup squad from the IPL knockouts to play in their bilateral series against Pakistan. This meant RCB were without Will Jacks and Reece Topley from their squad for the Eliminator.
“It is a bit of a problem that the cricket world and the cricket calendar has at the moment,” said Flower. “We saw at the Big Bash recently, a lot of the overseas players left before the playoffs and the finals so it really devalued the tournament to a certain extent. You saw in the ILT20 as well, you saw a lot of coming and going with people that had finished in the SA20 and then came in even just for the finals of the ILT20. I think competitions have to be careful about that because the integrity of the competition is really important.
“With a World Cup just around the corner, it’s very difficult. I completely understand why England wanted to recall those players. If I were England coach, I think I will be doing the same. So there are conundrums for the game that have to be ironed out. I’m not sure how with the busy-ness of the calendar at the moment. But it is a pity.”
Jacks scored 230 runs across eight innings for RCB in the 2024 competition, striking at 175.57. Those runs included a stunning century against Gujarat Titans and an important 41 in his final innings of the tournament against Delhi Capitals. Topley played four matches for RCB in the league, but did not feature for the side after April.
“Will Jacks really hit his straps with us,” said Flower. “He enjoyed the tournament with us and we enjoyed his power at No. 3 obviously. And it was a pity not to have him. But Cameron Green stepped into those shoes really well. [He] did really well for us, batting in a preferred position for him actually. At the moment that’s something I can’t control so we just try to make the best of it.”
The final of the 2024 IPL will take place this Sunday (May 26), one week before the start of the T20 World Cup. In an interview this week, England captain Jos Buttler, who left the Rajasthan Royals camp early for England’s series against Pakistan, said of the issue: “As an England captain, my main priority is to be playing for England. It’s my personal opinion that there shouldn’t be any international cricket that clashes with the IPL.”
