England batsman Ravi Bopara has denied an offer to play in the Indian Premier League and instead chose to play county cricket in order to strengthen his claim to regain a slot in the Poms’ Test team.
He was contacted by Rajasthan Royals, who offered Bopara a lucrative offer of £100,000 as they are trying to find a replacement for Paul Collingwood, who has been ruled out of the tournament because of a knee surgery.
Bopara admitted that it was not easy for him to turn down such an offer but he said that playing for his country is his priority and he wants to get into the Test team. He said that the longest version of the game is the real cricket and that his dreams and ambitions are more important than money.
The England middle order batsman said, “It was a tough decision [to turn down IPL offer], but my ambition as a youngster has always been to play Test cricket and to play for my country. Not everything's about money. I've got to make sure I fulfil my ambitions and my talent as a cricketer. Although Twenty20 is a very important part of the game, Test cricket is always going to be the pinnacle.”
There is a spot available in the England middle order as all-rounder Paul Collingwood retired from Test cricket after a disastrous 2010-11 Ashes series down under and Bopara wants to fill that slot.
Bopara said that it is a great chance for him to cement his place in the Test line-up and he understands that only one thing is going to get him selected in the squad and that is runs in county cricket.
“I recognize this is a great opportunity with a spot available, so I spoke to Graham Gooch and Ronnie Irani and they thought the best decision was for me to stay and perform for Essex and push for selection. Nothing's going to get me in that side apart from numbers,” Bopara added.
The Essex batsman has played 10 Test matches for his country so far and has scored 3 hundreds. However, he is out of the England Test team ever since his poor Ashes series at home in 2009.
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