There’s been a lot of debate about IPL versus international cricket lately. More and more of international cricket’s best players are weighing up the tough decision of representing their country as against accepting huge payments for IPL matches,

But former Test spinner Shane Warne is very clear about where he stands. He says cricket authorities should support the Indian Premier League (IPL), so that “every player in the world” is free to play in it.
“Playing for your country has to be number one. But, if common sense prevailed, the IPL would run for four weeks in April, with a week either side when there was no international cricket. Every player in the world would be available,” Warne told the Observer in an interview published last Sunday.

But according to him, the greatest lure of IPL is not the money (really?). Warne, who captains the reigning IPL champions Rajasthan Royals, praised the IPL matches for their lack of what he called the “other rubbish” – such as fitness tests, jump tests, dissecting players on computers and team meetings.

“The IPL is just pure, intense. You don’t need all the other stuff. When I finished (with Test cricket)….the enjoyment (wasn’t there). I was whining about a lot of little things….If you could just turn up the night before and play, then I’d still probably be playing”

I am sure that many other players would like to play the same tune of Shane Warne when he says, “To me, cricket is a simple game. Keep it simple and just go out and play.” Is ICC listening?
Source: Indo-Asian News Service