In hindsight, I probably didn’t need to withdraw from IPL: Chris Woakes | Cricket News

LONDON: Chris Woakes, ATV from England, has revealed that he withdrew from this year’s IPL primarily to be with his pregnant wife, but he does not need to have officially announced his retirement from the event, which was indefinitely suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. .

Delhi Capitals bought Woakes for Rs 1.5 million at the IPL auction last year, but withdrew from the tournament saying it wanted to stay cool for the test summer at home in England, which is also on hold due to the pandemic.

“In hindsight, I probably didn’t need to retire. I didn’t say it at the time, but we’re expecting another baby in September and that added to the decision,” Woakes said, according to The Cricketer.

“My wife was not well at home. The idea of ​​being away from home for three months was going to be too much. The family had to come first,” he said.

Woakes, who has not played a T20 since August 2018 and appeared in a T20I for England in November 2015, insisted that he has not finished playing the shortest format in the game.

“In no way do I feel like I’m done in T20. I would still love to play in the IPL,” he said.

The 31-year-old, who has represented England in 33 events and 101 ODI, insisted that national duty has the highest priority, but is open to other tournaments.

“I want to play as much cricket as I can while taking care of my body. My career in England is number 1, but if opportunities arise, I would still like to play in them.”

Speaking about the T20 World Cup scheduled for October and November in Australia, Woakes said he was unlikely to be part of the team.

“At the moment it doesn’t look like he’s going to try at T20 unless something drastic happens in terms of injuries. He probably should have had an incredible summer.”

The right-arm pacemaker said he would be open to playing in an empty stadium with no fans to make the international game work again.

“At least give the public something to watch and hopefully entertain some who miss him very much,” he said.

“We’d like a three-week (prep) block to get startles on his legs so we can go back a 20 day in a Test. But again, that might not be possible either. So I think two weeks could probably be the minimum.” he added.

England’s test tour of Sri Lanka was suspended when the visiting team rushed back home due to the rapid pandemic.

“They saw during the first days of the Sri Lanka tour … that we were doing everything possible not to make contact and not shake hands,” he recalled.

When asked about the issue of using saliva to make the ball shine, the Englishman said he prefers to use sweat.

“I try to use as much sweat as possible instead of putting my hands in my mouth only from a normal hygiene point of view.

“But I think it could change the way things work with the ball,” he explained.