File photo of Jonny Bairstow.
Called in as fresh ammunition for his side in the ongoing India-England series, which is currently tied 1-1 after India's emphatic win in Chennai last week, English wicket-keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow is raring to play the third Test after being rested for the first two Test. The burly Englishman was not included in the team earlier as part of England cricket board's (ECB) rotational policy keeping in mind the drawbacks of the rigorous bio-secure bubble.
And while the 31-year-old wicket-keeper backed ECB's decision to rest him and other players for certain games, he admitted that it will be difficult for him and other players, especially the ones with only the white-ball contract, to turn down the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League.
For reader's knowledge, back in England, the media hasn't been kind to the idea of resting of the players while allowing them to participate in the upcoming IPL 2021.
"When you see some of the sums on offer it's very hard to turn down," said Bairstow during a media interaction. "We have some players on full contracts and some on white-ball only and I don't think you can say "don't go" to England players on white-ball contracts. There are some serious sums involved."
The Sunrisers Hyderbad cricketer's argument does merit an argument as currently ECB grants full contract at £700,000 (Rs 7.10 crore approx.) basic a year but the amount significantly comes down for limited-over specialists like Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Mark Wood, who only get a £170,000 (Rs 1.73 crore) on white-ball only deals.
