England Have Missed Trick By Calling Back Players From IPL Ahead Of T20 WC: Vaughan

Chennai: Former skipper Michael Vaughan feels England “missed the trick” by recalling its cricketers from the IPL to play a T20 series against Pakistan, saying it had denied them experiencing pressure-cooker situations of the playoffs, which could have helped them prepare better for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the Americas.

Top England players, including skipper Jos Buttler , Phil Salt and Will Jacks were among the players called back home by the England and Wales Cricket Board for a four-match T20I series against Pakistan, leading to severe criticism from several former Indian cricketers including the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.

In fact, it was skipper Buttler who had pushed for players to get back in the English camp from the IPL to prepare for the T20 World Cup with the series against Pakistan, director of cricket Rob Key had earlier revealed.

“I’m all for international cricket, but now and again this tournament in particular is so exposed to pressure, and these players under a huge amount of pressure from fans, owners social media, it’s massive,” said Vaughan on a Club Prairie Fire podcast.

“They have missed the trick by sending all their players home. Will Jacks, Phil Salt, Jos Buttler in particular, playing in the IPL in the Eliminations pressure, crowd expectation, I would argue that playing here is better preparation than playing a T20 game against Pakistan,” Vaughan opined.

The first match of the bilateral white-ball series in Headingley was washed out on May 22, while England won the second match against Babar Azam’s side by 23 runs on Saturday.

Vaughan felt that Salt and Jack, in particular, could have got valuable lessons in handling pressure, which would have served them better in the T20 World Cup beginning on June 2 in the West Indies and USA.