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Great England Alastair Cook has revived the debate about Jacob Bethell IPL saying that international cricket should always come before franchise leagues. His comments resurfaced after Bethell was ruled out of this year’s The Hundred with a knee injury, denying him valuable match practice ahead of England’s Test series against Pakistan. Speaking on the Stick to Cricket podcast alongside Mo Bobat and Dinesh Karthik, Cook doubled down on his earlier criticism of Bethell staying in the IPL despite limited options.“What I’m saying is, I think this is where it really matters. I’m here for a Test match in a week’s time and one of our No.3 players (is sitting on the bench)… I think it’s really important that English cricket is more important than the IPL or the franchise. “That’s what I think, and apparently, I shouldn’t think that, because the IPL is the best tournament in the world,” said the former captain. Cook also questioned the value of Bethell spending another IPL season on the bench, adding: “I take it from Jacob Bethel, who sat on the bench the year before and learned from all those players, who are also sitting on the bench then not playing. I’m sitting here and I’m going, my number 3 from the side that I actually really want to beat, which is England, no disrespect to RCB and all those franchises, I want England to be the most successful team.“Cook’s comments attracted fresh attention after Bethell suffered a knee injury during England’s ODI series against India, forcing him to withdraw from The Hundred, where he was due to captain Birmingham Phoenix. The failure also raised doubts about his availability for England’s upcoming Test series against Pakistan.Earlier this year, Bethell defended his decision to stay at Royal Challengers Bengaluru despite limited playing time, saying “there is no right or wrong way” and insisting that training in the IPL helped his development even when he was not part of the playing XI.
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