Time for England stars to board the IPL gravy train

England Cricket / Frank Gregan / 30 August 2011 /

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MS Dhoni has made an absolute fortune courtesy of representing the Chennai Superkings in the IPL over the last few years

"English players have flirted with it in the past without grabbing it by the scruff of the neck. That's surprising when you consider that they are the World T20 champions but there seems to be a willingness to put country before wealth."

They're the T20 World Champions and the likes of Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad are amongst the best players in the world in the shortest format. So why are they and others missing out on the IPL riches rather than cashing in, asks Frank Gregan.

The English press has a reputation for being savage but they are cuddly little meerkats compared to an Indian media raging after seeing its cricket team mauled and whitewashed. MS Dhoni and his men are getting more stick back home than Red Rum did approaching the elbow! India have been hammered and a cricket-mad nation is demanding answers.

The first port of call when anything goes wrong these days is to blame the volume of cricket being played. This has been caused by the success of T20 and in particular the Indian Premier League. There's no getting away from the fact that the IPL is a long and hectic schedule but it's the event that offers the players the greatest financial rewards.

English players have flirted with it in the past without grabbing it by the scruff of the neck. That's surprising when you consider that they are the World T20 champions but there seems to be a willingness to put country before wealth. That's something that English skipper Andrew Strauss has not been slow to point out to the Indians.

"From an England team's perspective, there have been some benefits in us being less involved in the tournament. In some ways we have been less affected than the other sides," he was quoted as saying. No need to say "other sides" Andrew, we all know who you mean, India!

As the host nation it's a given that their players play in the IPL and that the franchises want them in their teams. The Indian star players are the major attraction and with the restriction on overseas players, MS Dhoni and his men are never short of bidders. A cricketer's career is time sensitive and they have to earn as much as they can during that short window.

Andrew Strauss understands and acknowledges that. "You can never hold it against the player for playing in the IPL, he may play the tournament for financial reasons, maybe with the thought of improving his game or whatever. But, as I said, you can understand as to why an individual wants to get involved in that tournament," he said.

So where does that leave the English players? England's participation during the four years of IPL has been very limited. Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen were probably the highest profile exports that England offered up but none of them took the league by storm. Eoin Morgan had a decent IPL4 and there have been other lesser lights such as Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara and Graham Napier who have been signed up but spent most of their time as very highly paid drink waiters!

Cricket retains a lot of its old values and one of those is that money is not dwelt upon as much as it is in other sports but the question has to be asked; are the England players missing out on a load of 'wonga'? They are the world's best Test team and the T20 world champions, they must be entitled to a piece of that very lucrative pie?

Graham Swann, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan are names that spring to mind that could enhance a franchise's chances of success whilst increasing their personal wealth. All three should be in action when England take on India in the one and only T20 on Wednesday. England are a very short [1.76] to win with India at [2.28]. The tourists have been dreadful but they know how to play the shortest format and at the prices they look the more attractive bet.

Because of the 'horses for courses' selection process, Andrew Strauss has never been seen as a T20 performer but he only needs to look at the example of Rahul Dravid to see that class is transferable. It's something he needs to consider. It will make the difference between mince and fillet steak in retirement.

If cricket is going to dish out huge sums of money then Strauss, one of the best skippers that England have produced, should get more of it than some agricultural whippersnapper 'T20 specialist' that every now and then gets lucky and smashes the ball over cow corner!

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