Indian Premier League

Modi urges ECB to let Flintoff play IPL

Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi on Thursday said the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) should not stop Andrew Flintoff from playing in the Twenty20 league, beginning from April 10.

ECB chairman Giles Clarke on Wednesday had expressed concern over Flintoff, who has a hip injury, playing in the IPL. But Modi said the ECB should not interfere if Flintoff is to take a call on the issue.

“It’s between the player and his team,” Modi was quoted as saying. “It is nothing to do with the ECB as far as we are concerned.”

However, Modi added that if the domestic governing body were to invoke clauses in the all-rounder’s contract relating to injury, the IPL executive would stand aside. But if Flintoff and Chennai were to declare the player fit and the ECB disagreed, what would be the stance of the IPL?

“Our contract is to the player, not the ECB. So that’s between the player and the ECB.”

Modi was also bullish when asked directly if he was concerned about the effect on the IPL should Flintoff, who alongside Kevin Pietersen, became the competition’s richest player at the auction earlier this month, signing $1.55-million contract with the Chennai Super Kings, be forced to pull out because of injury.

“No. Players get injured all the time. That’s why there are seven foreign players in all the teams,” he said.

Flintoff himself is confident that he would be fit to play in the IPL.

Tags: andrew flintoff, ECB, IPL, Lalit Modi