IPL officials are considering rescheduling the tournament so more County Championship players can take part.
The IPL is the most financially rewarding competition a cricketer can play in, with a record £1.6million being paid to Gautam Gambhir for his services in 2011 by Kolkata Knight Riders.
Yet due to its scheduling through the months of April and May, it coincides with the start of the County Championship season and therefore IPL sides are less inclined to pick up players from England.
Currently there are just four domestic players from England competing in the IPL; Dimitri Mascarenhas, Eoin Morgan, Owais Shah and Luke Wright.
Even the centrally contracted Three Lions cricketers find it difficult to secure IPL contracts, as the national team organise fixtures throughout the Indian tournament.
Stars such as Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen are the only English players to have received large contracts in the IPL, as England representatives can not feature for the whole competition due to international commitments.
However, ECB chief executive David Collier says that the organisation have been in talks with IPL officials about rescheduling the tournament to start earlier in the future.
“We have had very fruitful talks with India. In an ideal world, we would like the IPL to be concluded by April 30,” Collier was quoted on Sky Sports.
“We still have to get the workload balance right, but it would make it a lot easier for our players to be available for that period.
“There is a willingness on the part of both boards to see if we can make any progress.”
Being able to play in the IPL would be an extremely attractive prospect for many County Championship and England players, so a revised schedule for the tournament would be greatly welcomed in the UK.
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