India vs England 2021: Jonny Bairstow admits that ‘it is hard to turn down’ the kind of money offered in IPL


India vs England 2021: Jonny Bairstow admits that ‘it is hard to turn down’ the kind of money offered in IPL

Jonny Bairstow

Jonny Bairstow
Jonny Bairstow

England’s rotation policy has been the talk of the town lately. The team management is very wary when it comes to workload management of players. And hence they don’t hesitate in resting players despite being in their best of forms. Such an approach has garnered harsh criticism from pandits.

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But Jonny Bairstow, who was also rested for the first two Tests, has come out in support of the policy. Bairstow feels that players will eventually require rest when traveling bubbles for months. He then adds that the management cannot stop players from taking part in the Indian Premier League if they want to. Earlier, coach Chris Silverwood had also commented on the same lines.

Look, I think it is part and parcel of the game. There are guys who have white-ball contracts and red-call contracts and then there are those who have both. I think guys who have white-ball format will want to go to the IPL and you cannot tell them don’t go. When it comes to rest if you are asking people to be away from home from Jan 2-March 29. And to be in bubbles, at some point, people are going to need rest. That’s where the coaching staff has decided to give players rest,” Bairstow said during a virtual press conference.

“It is hard to turn it down,” admits Jonny Bairstow

Jonny Bairstow

The Englishman explains how important it is to stay mentally fresh when playing international cricket. But admits that ‘it is hard to turn down’ the kind of money offered in IPL. Bairstow feels that prioritising a format, when playing all three, can backfire. He feels that it is England’s approach of not compromising with any format that has made them a successful team across formats.

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Mentally, we have to stay as fresh as we can. We have been staying in hotels and we cannot leave, it is taxing and it is about staying fresh to produce the best on the pitch. When you are talking about the kind of money the likes of Kyle Jamieson, Chris Morris have got, it is hard to turn it down, it can be hard for anybody to turn it down. I do not believe there are any priorities, if you look at our away record, we have won six of our last seven Tests away from home, these results do not come by prioritizing one format of the game,” Bairstow added.

Reports suggested that English players might miss the New Zeland Test series to play the IPL. It is believed that the team management is allowing the players to skip the Test series to get some practice in the subcontinent with the T20 World Cup knocking. Bairstow shares that he cannot comment on it at the moment.

I do not know the dates of the IPL playoffs and I do not know the dates of New Zealand Test matches, so cannot say anything at this moment. I am lucky enough to be playing all three formats of the game,” Bairstow signed off.

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