Broad shuns IPL cash

(GETTY IMAGES)

England fast bowler Stuart Broad has shunned the chance to earn more than £100,000 by declining to take part in the lucrative Indian Premier League in April.

Yesterday the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed that centrally contracted players will be permitted to play in the second IPL which runs from 10 April to 29 May, although the leading players will only be allowed to go for three weeks.

Of the 19 contracted to the ECB, 13 have put themselves forward for the player auction but Broad is the only regular member of the one-day side to have turned it down, opting instead to focus on preparing for the Ashes series against Australia in the summer.

Batsmen Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan and Alistair Cook, as well as wicketkeepers Matt Prior and Tim Ambrose, have also turned their back on the IPL's second season.

Hugh Morris, the managing director of the England team, said: "It's very much down to the players. It's their choice. The IPL is a fantastic opportunity for players.

"With the Twenty20 world championship happening in England at the beginning of the summer, it's nice to have the opportunity for some our players to play Twenty20 cricket.

"It's a good opportunity for players but it's a good opportunity for us. We've got a very important summer ahead of us with the Twenty20 and the Ashes and this is a decision Stuart has made and we must respect that.

"The players who are going there are going to be playing with and against some of the best players in the world in what we see as a very high-profile and very important tournament.

"Players will prepare in different ways for this summer. Stuart has chosen one way and others have chosen another way."