England players should not miss international duty to play in IPL: Atherton

England
have
already
conceded
the
five-match
series
Down
Under
against
their
traditional
rivals
after
suffering
heavy
defeats
in
the
first
three
Tests,
the
poor
show
attracting
widespread
criticism
from
former
players.

“Players
should
not
miss
international
duty
to
play
in
the
IPL,
nor
be
rested
and
rotated
to
allow
them
to
play
elsewhere.
The
carry-on
during
the
winter,
and
at
the
start
of
the
English
summer,
should
not
happen
again,”
Atherton
wrote
in
his
column
for
‘The
Times’.

With
regards
to
the
glitzy
IPL,
the
former
captain
also
had
other
suggestions
to
help
improve
England’s
performance
in
the
international
arena’s
red-ball
format.

“The
leading
multi-format
players
are
paid
seven-figure
sums,
but,
incredibly,
the
ECB
washes
its
hands
of
them
for
two
months
of
the
year
during
the
Indian
Premier
League.
The
players
should
be
told
that,
while
the
ECB
will
be
accommodating
of
the
request
to
play
in
the
IPL,
a
12-month
contract
is
exactly
that,
and
the
granting
of
a
no-objection
certificate
to
play
in
the
IPL
and
other
franchised
competitions
is
contingent
on
it
being
in
the
best
interests
of
the
England
team,”
Atherton
said.

Atherton,
who
has
captained
England
in
54
Tests
from
1993
to
2001,
felt
Ben
Stokes
is
a
“viable
alternative”
to
replace
Joe
Root
as
skipper
for
the
five-day
format.
Root,
who
had
a
magnificent
run
with
the
bat
in
2021,
has
been
under
the
scanner
for
his
captaincy
in
Australia.

“There
have
been
so
many
errors
here,
from
selection
to
strategy,
that
the
captain
has
to
bear
personal
responsibility
…
This
could
have
been
a
much
closer
series
had
Root
got
things
right
on
the
field,”
Atherton
wrote.

“Root
has
been
a
good
England
captain,
and
has
always
carried
himself
superbly
and
is
an
incredible
ambassador
for
the
sport,
but
having
done
the
job
for
five
years
and
having
had
three
cracks
at
the
Ashes,
including
two
awful
campaigns
in
Australia,
it
is
time
for
someone
else
to
have
a
go.

“Ben
Stokes
is
a
viable
alternative,
having
done
an
excellent
job
as
a
stand-in
briefly
in
the
summer.
His
bowling
is
starting
to
wind
down,
and,
as
he
may
not
get
into
England’s
best
T20
side
now,
he
can
be
given
a
breather
during
those
matches,”
Atherton
added.

As
far
as
head
coach
Chris
Silverhood
is
concerned,
Atherton
said
it’s
time
he
is
shown
the
door.
“At
the
moment
there
seems
to
be
an
absence
of
authority
and
an
unwillingness
to
challenge
the
players.

“There
is
no
way
Silverwood
will
(or
should)
survive
the
Ashes,
which
should
allow
a
reorganisation
of
the
coaching
and
selecting
responsibilities.”
The
fourth
Test
begins
in
Sydney
on
January
5.