All-rounder of England, Chris Woakes, is withdrawing from the IPL season
All-rounder from England Chris Woakes withdraws from the IPL season in an attempt to keep himself fresh for the busy summer
- England all-round Chris Woakes has withdrawn from this season’s IPL
- He has withdrawn in an attempt to keep himself fresh for the international summer
- Woakes was picked up by Delhi Capitals for £ 160,000 with the tournament schedule
Chris Woakes has withdrawn his Indian Premier League contract with the Delhi Capitals in an effort to stay fresh for the English season.
Woakes is said to have received £ 160,000 in the lucrative Twenty20 tournament, but has informed Delhi that he wants to rest at the end of the two-test series in Sri Lanka so that he is fit and ready for the first home summer test against West Indies on June 4.
Otherwise, after the final test in Colombo on April 1, he would have had to travel directly to India and immediately embark on the two-month IPL campaign.
All-rounder from England Chris Woakes has withdrawn from this season’s Indian Premier League
It is a wise decision by Woakes, who played an important role last summer in England’s 50-over World Cup victory before playing in four of the five Ashes tests. He has also traveled through New Zealand and South Africa this winter and arrived here in Colombo earlier this week for a one-month trip ending one of England’s busiest after-season.
The 31-year-old all-rounder with seam skittles played a key role in the historic English world cup success last year and also played four of the five Ashes tests.
He has since traveled through New Zealand and South Africa in the winter and is currently preparing the team for two tests in Sri Lanka.
The prospect of going straight from Sri Lanka to India for a competition that runs for nearly two months – as is expected from Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Jos Buttler – brought second thoughts and instead gave priority to keeping fresh for another busy program at home.
Woakes was picked up by Delhi Capitals for £ 160,000, but wants to be fresh for a busy summer
England players selected for the first test of the summer, against West Indies on the oval on June 4, must be back on May 26 and the IPL final is scheduled for May 24.
The windows are tight and the physical demands heavy, with Woakes also taking into account the management of a long-term knee pain.
He has not played an official Twenty20 since August 2019, but his consistent success in cricket with more than 50 meant he remained popular.
He is now returning to Warwickshire and is likely to improve his red-ball skills in the early provincial games to maintain his place in the first team of the domestic campaign.
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