In the past, whenever international players withdrew from the beach tournament during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) due to national duty, security, corona virus or other reasons, it was a source of immense anger for the Pakistani fans,
But now the Indian Premier League (IPL) is facing a similar situation as the England players have gone back for the home T20 series with Pakistan. That too when the IPL 2024 season is in its final stages and the playoffs are from next Tuesday.
Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad have already qualified for the playoffs, while the final team for the playoffs will be decided in the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings on Saturday.
At a time when all teams need their best players more than ever, England players linked to different teams are leaving the IPL and returning.
Players returning to England include Rajasthan Royals' Jos Buttler, Royal Challengers Bangalore's Will Jacks and Reece Topley, Chennai Super Kings' Moeen Ali, Punjab Kings' Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow and Sam Curran, and Kolkata Knight Riders' Phil Salt. are
Rajasthan Royals shared a video of Jos Buttler's comeback with the caption 'Jos bhai, we will miss you a lot.'
After the England players' decision, a debate has erupted on Indian social media on whether foreign players can leave their franchise for such a beach tournament.
While there is anger among the Indian fans, former Indian cricketers are also seen criticizing the English players.
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has written in a column for the website Mid-Day that the Indian board BCCI should punish the English board ECB and the English players for this.
Gavaskar says he is in favor of players prioritizing playing for their country, but abandoning the tournament in the middle after assuring various franchises of their availability for the entire season is not right.
He said that the franchises should not only be allowed to cut the fees of these players, but the English board should not be given 10% commission of the players' fees.
On the other hand, former Indian fast bowler Irfan Pathan commented on X (formerly Twitter) that 'come for the entire season, otherwise don't come.'
What if the price of English players is not included in the next IPL auction?
Commenting on this situation, another user said that ECB is not doing any good to cricket by recalling its players from IPL.
"What if the next auction does not include the price of English players?"
Another user Ajit Shah said that England Cricket Board is treating IPL as if it is a street cricket.
While some fans have appreciated the English player's preference for national duty. As user Samip Rajguru put it, perhaps the ECB knows that cricket 'does not run through clubs but at the expense of the national team.'
Another user said that while Indian players have been busy in IPL for a long time, English players are preparing for T20 World Cup.
Why did England recall their players from IPL?
Late last month, when the England Cricket Board announced its initial squad for the T20 World Cup, then the team's managing director Rob Kay informed the players that the players included in the World Cup squad from May 22. Will have to come back to participate in the series that starts against Pakistan.
He said that you cannot call back the players without any reason.
"For example, we couldn't tell Phil Salt to come back and rest for the next 15 days. But there is some time before the England series when we can bring players back for England duty."
Rob Kay has revealed that the decision to recall the players before the end of the IPL was the English captain Jos Buttler himself.
According to him, Buttler said that he wants to start preparations for the World Cup through the series against Pakistan.
The four-match T20I series between Pakistan and England will start from May 22, while the T20 World Cup will start from June 2.
England will play their first match against Scotland on June 4.
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