Signalling a big change in England cricket’s policy towards the Indian Premier League, head coach Chris Silverwood has confirmed that all players who will take part in the upcoming edition will be staying for the whole length of the tournament. It would mean they will be unavailable in the Test series against New Zealand scheduled to start right after the end of the IPL 2021.
However, Silverwood still put playing for the country as the supposed biggest thing for cricket possible in order to raise the stakes for players in the Test series.
"We have not looked at selection for the Test matches yet. For me, playing for your country is a big thing. It is always difficult to change anything. So, they will be staying for the whole IPL as it stands at the moment," Silverwood said during a virtual press conference.
Notably, superstars such as Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer are all-formats players for England and would have walked into the Test XI to face the Blackcaps in early June, but Joe Root will have to play without three of his match-winner.