IPL 2023: Chris Woakes Explains Why He Pulled Out of the Auction

England fast bowler Chris Woakes, who pulled out of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023) before the mini-auction last year, revealed why he decided against playing in the cash-rich league.  Woakes, who has played for KKR, RCB, and most recently Delhi Capitals in the IPL, wants to force his way into Ashes contention by playing and performing well for his county Warwickshire in this year’s County Championship.

Having missed the whole of English summer last year due to injury, Woakes has been on the sidelines as far as Test cricket is concerned. Under the new leadership of captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, the England Test team has been invincible and the players part of the current Test setup have enjoyed playing under them thus far.  

Since missing the summer of 2022, Woakes planned to skip the IPL 2023 to prepare himself for the five-match Ashes series and Ireland series at home, scheduled to take place later this year. Not just Woakes but several top players like Steve Smith, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc have either pulled out of the IPL Auction or have not registered themselves, for the same reason.

IPL 2023: Woakes Eyes Test Recall

The 34-year-old bowler might not have attracted a lot of buyers in the auction but would have been a likely choice given his experience of playing in the toughest T20 league. Explaining his decision to skip this year’s IPL, Woakes said:

“There were a lot of factors. One, my body whenever I have come back from the IPL before, I don’t feel I have come back in the best shape going into a Test summer. For me personally, that jump from T20 to Test cricket is quite a big jump. I have always found that transition quite hard. I haven’t played Test cricket for a year, so I feel like I would need some overs under my belt to have the chance to knock on the door for selection in what is a tough team to get back into at the minute. That is a big part of it,” Chris Woakes was quoted as saying by Daily Mail.

Woakes’ last appearance in the red-ball format came way back in March 2022, against West Indies. Since then, the all-rounder has only made appearances in the white-ball format. But with Ashes around, the bowling all-rounder wants to make a strong case for himself so that he can earn a recall for the five-match against Australia. It is tough to break into the Test squad at the moment given the luxury of options Stokes and McCullum have.