Ben Stokes has cautioned that England's most sought-after cricketers could permanently step away from Test cricket if the England and Wales Cricket Board pushes back against their participation in the Indian Premier League.
Archer's absence sparks debate
Jofra Archer will miss the first Test of the summer against New Zealand at Lord's, which begins on Thursday, after taking a post-season break in Barbados following a successful stint with the Rajasthan Royals. However, he is expected to feature later in the series. This comes as IPL franchises begin signing global stars to multi-year deals; South African batsman Heinrich Klaasen retired from international cricket last year to commit to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Stokes on the modern landscape
'Yes, in an ideal situation it would be unbelievably great to have everyone who you want available at every single opportunity,' Stokes said. 'That is not the way of cricket at the moment. There is so much more out there for players. I get both sides of the story. The 'why is Jof not here?' But also understand there are other opportunities and you want players to be able to do them, and also play for England.'
He added: 'There is a situation where it could get messy and players like Jofra might not play for England again if you handle it in a different way, and that is not good for anyone. Jofra has shown that he's committed and loves playing for England. Just because he's not available for this first Test match does not change that.'
Criticism from former players
Former England cricketer Mark Butcher described Archer's decision to stay on for the IPL knockout stages—where he finished as the tournament's third-highest wicket-taker—as 'absolutely ludicrous.' Michael Vaughan, David Gower, and Mike Atherton have also voiced strong criticism. Stokes countered: 'A lot of points people are making around Jof and that situation, are to do with the landscape when they were playing. But it's completely different now. There's opportunities for cricketers now that there was not 10, 15, 20 years ago.'
Team news
Jacob Bethell retains his place at number three after scoring a maiden Test hundred in Sydney in January. He returned early from the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, though he was not selected and did so due to a badly torn nail on his left ring finger. Meanwhile, New Zealand's spinning all-rounder Rachin Ravindra requested to leave the Kolkata Knight Riders' bench to focus on this tour, having scored a Test-turning century against Ireland in Belfast last week.
