Joe Root has entered the IPL auction for the first time but has said he will miss the competition in the future if he thinks it is getting in the way of his England career.
Root has assured England that he can handle the extra burden of playing in the IPL at a time when ideally he would rest and prepare for the summer captaining the Test side.
“I get that. The schedule is very full on if you play in all three formats. I’ve always said I put playing for England first and if it means resting from things like the IPL, which I’ve done in the past, I’ll happily do that. For however long my international career last it’s going to be focused about as giving as much as I can for this team and playing for England,” said Root.
While entering the IPL auction for the first time in his career, he has set his base price at INR 1.5 crore. The 27-year old has explained his thought-process behind entering the 2018 IPL auction.
Root affirmed, “One thing I’ve been very aware of for the past two years is the lack of T20 cricket. When that World Cup does come around in a couple of years’ time, this is probably the best window of opportunity for me to develop that white-ball side of my game. As someone involved in the Test side I don’t want to be missing white ball cricket and falling behind, trying to catch up.”
He added, “I think the IPL is a great opportunity. It may be that I don’t have a great IPL but the best thing would be the exposure to different players and different ways of looking at the game, being under pressure for long periods of time. I can’t see how that could hamper my game or be detrimental to my England career. I spent a good four or five months making that decision, that’s where my head is at. Hopefully, we’ll see the benefits in a couple of years’ time.”
Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Root are the three leading England players among 282 overseas cricketers hoping for deals in the IPL auction on January 27 and 28.
