Chris Woakes said it wasn't a difficult decision to opt-out of the 2023 IPL. The England all-rounder explained that he had to do so to have the best shot at making the Test team for the Ashes next year.
IPL auction is scheduled to take place on the 23rd of December this year. The 33-year-old has played for KKR, RCB, and most recently Delhi Capitals in the tournament. Woakes might have been sought-after at the auction in Kochi.
Woakes, who missed the home Test season with an injury, will be instead turning up for Warwickshire in the County Championship.
"It wasn't an easy decision, by any means. There's still a part of me that wishes I could go because the IPL is a great tournament and financially it could be very rewarding - but I didn't want to make the decision solely on finance.
"It's a tricky scenario: having just won a World Cup, potentially stock could be high. Some other players are likely to go big but I could have been next on the list behind them.
"I had conversations with a lot of people and some with franchises as well, who sounded keen, which made it harder to pull out. But having not played any cricket in the English summer last year, it's a good opportunity for me to set myself up for, hopefully, a really strong summer with England," Woakes said.
Woakes said an honest conversation with ECB managing director Rob Key also contributed to his decision.
"He was very clear that I was still a part of the Test plans but I needed to get myself fit and get my knee right," Woakes further added.
In IPL, Woakes has played 21 matches so far and has scalped 30 wickets at an economy of 8.97. He has scored 78 runs with the highest score of 18.
