Former England captain Michael Vaughan on Saturday made a shocking about-face on the ECB’s decision to remove England players from the ongoing domestic series against Pakistan in the run-up to the T20 World Cup in June. He had defended the decision earlier last week amid backlash from veteran Indian cricketers but slammed the decision during the second T20I match of the England-Pakistan series.
Ahead of the start of the IPL 2024 playoffs last week, the ECB recalled its T20 World Cup-scheduled players to their home countries for final preparations for the ICC event, meaning Will Jacks (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Phil Salt (Kolkata Knight Riders) and Jos Buttler (Rajasthan Royals) missed crucial knockout games for their respective IPL franchises.
Speaking on the Club Prairie Fire podcast, Vaughan said England had missed an opportunity by recalling the three players, explaining that the high-pressure IPL play-off matches would have provided better preparation for the World Cup than the series against Pakistan, the opening game of which was rained out.
“I think sending all the players home would defeat the purpose, especially Will Jacks, Phil Salt and Jos Buttler, they are playing in the IPL qualifiers and there is pressure, crowds and expectations. I think playing here will be better preparation for them than the T20 games against Pakistan,” he said.
The remarks infuriated Pakistani journalists, who took to social media to accuse Vaughan of disrespecting Babar Azam’s team and then asked the veteran batsman whether he would apologise if the team won the T20 World Cup next month.
His tweet read, “Michael Vaughan has literally insulted Pakistan’s pitching staff with his comments on IPL. This is heartbreaking. Hey @MichaelVaughan! If we win the World Cup will you apologise to Pakistan fans? Do I need an IPL contract or what?”
Vaughn’s answer was simple and stark: “No.”
Pakistan have not been in good form heading into the World Cup despite replacing Shaheen Afridi with Babar as captain and Mohammed Amir and Imad Wasim returning from retirement. Pakistan last won the tournament in 2009. They drew 2-2 against second-string New Zealand before being stunned by Ireland in the series opener, but bounced back afterwards. The men in green then suffered a 23-run defeat in the second T20I against England on Saturday to go down 0-1 in the four-match series.
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