RCB's (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) head coach Andy Flower has expressed concern over the growing clash between international cricket and T20 franchise leagues around the world.
Flower is also perturbed by the lack of coordination between various T20 leagues as a collision in their scheduling adversely impacts their standards and popularity.
Notably, RCB were deprived of the services of Will Jacks in their playoff decider against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on May 18 as he had to fly back to England to be a part of the Three Lions' squad for their four-match series against Pakistan.
While his loss didn't bother them much against CSK, it hurt them badly in the Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on May 22 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Batting first RCB failed to post a gigantic total on the board and the scenario might have been different if they had access to Jacks.
"It is a bit of a problem that the cricket world and the cricket calendar has at the moment," Flower said during the post-match press conference after the loss in the Eliminator.
"We saw at the Big Bash recently, a lot of the overseas players left before the playoffs and the finals so it really devalued the tournament to a certain extent. You saw in the ILT20 as well, you saw a lot of coming and going with people that had finished in the SA20 and then came in even just for the finals of the ILT20. I think competitions have to be careful about that because the integrity of the competition is really important.
"Will Jacks really hit his straps with us. He enjoyed the tournament with us and we enjoyed his power at No. 3, obviously. And it was a pity not to have him. But Cameron Green stepped into those shoes really well. [He] did really well for us, batting in a preferred position for him actually. At the moment that's something I can't control so we just try to make the best of it."
