Mark Butcher feels the England and Wales Cricket Board missed a golden opportunity by turning down BCCI’s request of altering the schedule for the IND vs ENG Test Series in order to accommodate the Indian Premier League. Butcher opined that the board could have used this as a golden ticket to get some of Indian cricket’s star players for The Hundred in the near future, whose maiden edition takes place this summer.
As per reports, the ECB did not entertain the BCCI’s request to change the schedule of the five-Test series between India and England, but Butcher reckons the English board could have done themselves a huge favor had they done the opposite.
Mark Butcher feels the ECB should have agreed to change the IND vs ENG Test Series schedule to accommodate the remaining games of IPL
“I think it’s a massive missed opportunity. The ECB very, very rarely… in fact, I would go as far in the last 10-15 years as to say never, have something that the BCCI wants or needs. And with The Hundred sort of floundering because of Covid and overseas players cancelling contracts, not being able to come, this year is a bit of a write-off. The ECB are absolutely desperate to make this work. They have to be, they have bet the house on The Hundred, but at every turn, it seems a greater power doesn’t want it to happen,” Butcher said on the Wisden Weekly Podcast.
“And so for me, this was the opportunity where you’ll say ‘Okay, we’ll bite the bullet… We would do this for the BCCI on the proviso that we get Kohli, Dhoni, whoever we like, signed up for three years to play in The Hundred, starting 2022’.” He added.
As per BCCI policy, every player from India needs permission if they want to play in any of the overseas franchise tournaments. And, getting players like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli on board is a dream come true for any tournament. Although, the latter has bid farewell to the game of cricket. But, Dhoni holds a bigger fanbase than any current cricketer across the globe.
The Hundred tournament comprises of eight teams with the name Welsh Fire, Northern Superchargers, Trent Rockets, London Spirits, Birmingham Phoenix, Manchester Originals, and Oval Invincibles. The tournament is set to begin from 22nd July with the opener to be played between Oval Invincibles vs Manchester Originals at Kennington Oval in London.
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