Keeping international cricket at the helm, England all-rounder Chris Woakes has kept other options open especially the ones which will see him playing in T20 leagues across the globe.
“I want to play as much cricket as I can moving forward while looking after my body. My England career is No.1 but if opportunities come up, I’d still like to play in them,” Woakes was recently quoted as saying by The Cricketer.
Having last played a T20 20 months ago and a T20I almost half-a-decade ago, 31-year old Woakes admits that his chances of playing the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia later this year are grim unless he registers an “unbelievable summer”.
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“At the minute, it doesn’t quite look like I’m going to get a go in T20 [for England] unless something drastic happens in terms of injuries. I’d probably have to have had an unbelievable summer,” Woakes said.
Why did Delhi Capitals’ Chris Woakes pull out of IPL 2020?
Woakes, who has picked 25 wickets in 18 IPL matches for Kolkata Knight Riders and Royals Challengers Bangalore in the past, was bought by Delhi Capitals at his base price of INR 1.5 crore for the 13th season of the Indian Premier League.
While it was earlier reported that Woakes had pulled out of the cash-rich league to extend England career, he has now revealed that the decision was more because of personal reasons.
“In hindsight, I probably didn’t need to pull out. I didn’t say it at the time but we’re expecting another baby in September and that added to the decision.
“My wife wasn’t well at home. The idea of being away from home for three months was going to be too much. Family had to come first,” Woakes added after IPL 2020 has been postponed until further notice.
Supporting the views of veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh and Australia spearhead Pat Cummins but opposition the views of Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, Woakes agreed to play behind closed doors once situation regarding coronavirus pandemic improves.
Before concluding, Woakes also mentioned that players will be needing a specified time period to get their act together before returning back to top-level cricket.
“At least, give the public something to watch and hopefully entertain some who are missing it a lot. We’d want a three-week block (of preparation) to get overs in your legs to be able to back up a 20-over day in a Test. But again that might not be possible either. So I think two weeks would probably be the minimum,” Woakes concluded.
