ECB chief says England players unlikely to feature in IPL

David Collier has said it is unlikely that any England players will feature in future Indian Premier League (IPL) tournaments.

Collier, who is chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), says it is due to the hectic international schedule rather than the principal of letting centrally-contracted players play elsewhere.

The IPL has brought together the best talent from around the world to compete in a Twenty20 competition, which begins at the end of the month, but the ECB has barred all England players from participating.

Collier explained the ECB's decision, saying: "The obvious time for the IPL to play is April and May, but that clashes with the start of our international season."

Because the International Cricket Council (ICC) organises tours years in advance Collier explained that it would be hard for any of England's players to compete in next year's tournament as well.

"The IPL has said that the tours programmes will take precedence, and clearly that will clash with us being in the West Indies," said Collier.

"[For] the IPL to play in October and November would be a problem because that clashes with the majority of global events – [such as] the ICC Champions Trophy - are played during that period, so that time is unlikely."

However, Collier is not completely opposed to the concept of the IPL and claims the current domestic Twenty20 competition could be adapted to function in the same way as the IPL – allowing a greater influx of international players for the competition.

"It is a question of finding periods of the year for this to take place. We are one of the few countries who play in June, that is why our competitions are so successful because we can attract the best players in the world," Collier added.