The Sunday Telegraph - Sport

Going to auction

England Test captain says he can cope with IPL

- By Nick Hoult

Joe Root has entered the Indian Premier League auction for the first time but has said he will miss the competitio­n in future if he thinks it is getting in the way of his England career.

Root has assured England 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,” said Root. “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 lasts it’s going to be focused about as giving as much as I can for this team and playing for England.”

But, after watching Ben Stokes land a £1.7 million deal last year, it is understand­able Root wants to cash in. He is also aware of the fact he does not play much Twenty20 cricket and wants to keep on top of the format for the next World Twenty20 in two years’ time.

“One thing I’ve been very aware of for the past two years is the lack of T20 cricket,” he said. “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. You’ve seen how quickly one-day cricket has moved forward in the last three or four years.

“As someone involved in the Test side I don’t want to be missing whiteball cricket and falling behind. I want to make sure I’m keeping my place and setting the standards in this team, leading the way. 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. We’ll hopefully see the benefits in a couple of years.”

Stokes, Root and Jos Buttler are the three leading England players among 282 overseas cricketers hoping for deals in the IPL auction on Jan 27 and 28.

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