Former Indian pacesetter Irfan Pathan quizzed Indian Premier League critics who pointed fingers at the T20 league for England’s flagging Test performances.
Jonny Bairstow’s hundred helped England come back from a first-class wobble against the West Indies in their first Test (AFP Photo).
HIGHLIGHTS
- Jonny Bairstow’s hundreds helped England overcome a top-level failure in the 1st Test
- England scored 268/6 on stumps on Day 1 of the first Test against the West Indies
- Bairstow has been a constant presence in the IPL
Former Indian pacesetter Irfan Pathan was among many who took aim at critics of the Indian Premier League after they pointed the finger at the T20 tournament over England’s recent poor showing in Test cricket. Pathan’s cheeky statement on social media came after Jonny Bairstow helped England 268-for-6 with a save on day one of the first Test against the West Indies in Antigua.
Jonny Bairstow went unbeaten on 109 points as he helped England bounce back from a 48/4, bringing back memories of their Ashes debacle earlier this year when England’s batting power crumbled innings after innings.
Bairstow and Ben Stokes sewed a 67 run stance for the 5th wicket and a 99 run stance with wicketkeeper Ben Foakes to get England back on track.
After Bairstow’s hundred, Irfan Pathan took to social media to make a cheeky statement in what appeared to be a dig at IPL’s critics.
“Jonny Bairstow plays IPL?” Pathan said in a widely shared tweet.
Jonny Bairstow plays IPL?
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 9, 2022
England’s players were criticized for their involvement in the Indian Premier League when they were defeated 4-0 in the Ashes in Australia earlier this year.
Former Sri Lankan coach Mickey Arthur, who joined the English county of Derbyshire as head of cricket, said it was unfair to blame the quality of county cricket for England’s Test performance and that the England and Wales Cricket Board should restrict its players play the IPL.
“England didn’t score enough runs. It’s as simple as that,” said Arthur The times.
“If you want to put the blame, you can put it right there. County cricket is not to blame. County cricket has been a really good producer of international players for so long. I don’t think there is a problem with the system. Unfortunately, if you want the strength early in the season, you have to stop players from going to the IPL.
The legendary David Gower had also pointed the finger at the IPL, while captain Joe Root had said he would sacrifice the IPL auction opportunity to focus on reviving England’s Test fortunes.
“I will sacrifice as much as I can because I care so much about Test cricket in our country and try to get us where we want to be,” he added.
