Why England's Woakes pulled out of IPL

 

England all-rounder Chris Woakes has revealed that he pulled out of this year's IPL primarily to be with his pregnant wife but need not have officially announced his withdrawal from the event, which was suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Woakes was bought for Rs 1.5 crore by Delhi Capitals at the IPL auction last year, but pulled out of the tournament saying that he wanted to stay fresh for England's home Test summer, which is also currently on hold due to the pandemic.

"In hindsight I probably didn't need to pull out. I didn't say it at the time but we're expecting another baby in September and that added to the decision," Woakes was quoted as saying by The Cricketer.

"My wife wasn't well at home. The idea of being away from home for three months was going to be too much. Family had to come first," he said.

Woakes, who has not played a T20 since August 2018, and featured in a T20I for England in November 2015, insisted he is not finished playing the shortest format of the game.

"By no means do I feel like I'm finished in T20. I'd still love to play in the IPL," he said.

The 31-year-old, who has represented England in 33 Tests and 101 ODIs, insisted that national duty takes top priority but he is open to playing other tournaments.

"I want to play as much cricket as I can moving forward while looking after my body. My England career is No.1 but if opportunities come up, I'd still like to play in them."

Talking about the T20 World Cup scheduled in October-November in Australia, Woakes said it was unlikely that he would make the squad.

"At the minute it doesn't quite look like I'm going to get a go in T20 unless something drastic happens in terms of injuries. I'd probably have to have had an unbelievable summer."

England's cricketers would agree to be quarantined together in one location if it means they will be allowed to play matches after the COVID-19 pandemic suspended the season, Woakes said.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has said the season will not start before May 28 and British media reported players could be asked to stay at hotels near grounds and play matches without spectators present.

"If the players had to be put in quarantine for a period of time, I think players would be happy to do so," Woakes was quoted as saying by the Telegraph.

"If after this... cricket was allowed to come back again and it was at a venue where there was space for players on site, then I think players would be happy to do that but obviously it depends on how long it is to be for.

"If it was going to be a three-four week window then I think guys would be open to being able to do that without too many issues."

Woakes said they would only return if medical experts deem it safe to do so but that players would not be willing to stay away from their families for an extended period of time.

"There are a lot of people with young families," he added.

"I'm not sure how it would work... The guys have started to think about playing behind closed doors because it kind of looks like there is a high probability of that happening."

England's Test tour of Sri Lanka was called off as the visiting team rushed back home due to the rapidly spreading pandemic.

"You saw during the early days of the Sri Lanka tour… that we were trying our hardest not to make contact with each other and not shaking hands," he recalled.

Asked about the issue of using saliva to shine the ball, the Englishman said he prefers to use sweat.

"I try and use as much sweat as possible rather than putting your hands in your mouth just from a normal hygiene point of view.

"But I think it could potentially change the way things work with the ball," he explained.

England are due to host West Indies in a three-Test series in June and play two limited-over series against Australia in July. The ECB will meet on Thursday to discuss whether the suspension will be extended beyond May 28.