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Kevin Pietersen blasts 'pathetic' England for pulling Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler from IPL as Black Caps remain for playoffs


velu

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It was only a matter of time before Kevin Pietersen took aim at England cricket boss Andrew Strauss for the injustice of it all.

Strauss confirmed there would be no change to England's stance on star players Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes missing this week's Indian Premier League playoffs to attend a training camp in Spain, ahead of their pre-Champions Trophy series against South Africa starting on May 24.

Cue Pietersen's outrage. Barred from the England team under Strauss' watch, the IPL commentator and Twenty20 gun for hire unleashed.

 

"I think it's pathetic. An absolute shambles," Pietersen told Sky Sports UK.

 

"Stokes should be playing in the semi-final, and the final. The last week of the IPL is a huge occasion. Just speak to him, speak to Jos Buttler, they'll talk about how much it has helped their development being out there.

"What are they going to Spain for? To field a couple of balls? He should be playing in the IPL."

As England stood firm, New Zealand Cricket maintained its opposite stance of allowing its top players to remain in the IPL as their Black Caps take on Ireland and Bangladesh in an ODI tri-series.

Six New Zealand cricketers remain for the playoffs, which starts with top qualifiers Mumbai Indians against Rising Pune Supergiant early on Wednesday (NZT): Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan (Mumbai), Lockie Ferguson (Pune), Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme (Kolkata) and Kane Williamson (Hyderabad). Kolkata play Hyderabad in an eliminator early on Thursday (NZT).

All bar Ferguson are in New Zealand's Champions Trophy squad, along with Martin Guptill, Corey Anderson and Adam Milne whose IPL involvement ended when their teams bowed out.

 

England's players, meanwhile, were given a May 15 deadline to depart the IPL when they signed up. It highlighted, again, the ridiculous schedule clashes between Twenty20 leagues and international cricket, and confirmed England's unwillingness to budge on the IPL when they have their own T20 competition to promote, starting next month.

Top England players like Stokes are paid plenty more than their New Zealand counterparts, a point acknowledged by NZC when it announced in February it would excuse its top players from the ODI tri-series.

Chief executive David White said in a statement the sheer power of the IPL's financial clout had changed its thinking.

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"I think our strategic approach to this one has been bang on: Encourage our Black Caps to continue playing for New Zealand by allowing them to share in the opportunities now available in the professional market. Don't force them to choose between cash and country and risk a backlash," he said.

Whether that translates to adequate preparation for a world 50-over tournament will be seen when the full Champions Trophy squad finally assembles for warmup games against India on May 28 and Sri Lanka two days later, before their tournament opener against Australia at Edgbaston on June 2.

Of the six remaining New Zealand IPL players, only McClenaghan and de Grandhomme have been regular first choices. McClenaghan starred again for Mumbai, with his 18 wickets the equal third-highest with South Africa's Imran Tahir (Pune).

Boult and Southee have been sparingly used and each returned for their first games in a month at the weekend, while Williamson was overlooked again for the defending champion Sunrisers despite averaging 46 in six games at a strike rate of 162.

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KP :icflove:

 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/92589576/kevin-pietersen-blasts-pathetic-england-for-pulling-ben-stokes-jos-buttler-from-ipl-as-black-caps-remain-for-playoffs

Edited by velu
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Maybe this is one of the reasons why England team chokes so much. Had their players been a part of IPL on a regular basis I doubt they would've choked the way they did in 2013 CT final or the way they couldn't qualify from their group in 2015 WC :giggle: 

 

Agree with Pietersen that playing in must win IPL playoffs would provide a much better learning experience than "practicing" in Spain ever would :phehe: 

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