Collingwood surprised by England duo's IPL snub
Paul Collingwood admits he was surprised that England bowlers Graeme Swann and James Anderson were snubbed by the Indian Premier League.
Despite enjoying reputations as two of the best bowlers in the world, Swann and Anderson were overlooked during the IPL auction. Kevin Pietersen was one of four English players to be handed a payday, but his $650,000 fee was significantly less than the record $1.6 million paid for him in the 2009 auction.
Stuart Broad joins Kings XI Punjab, Eoin Morgan the Kolkata Knight Riders and Paul Collingwood will play at the Rajasthan Royals for $250,000.
Collingwood believes the pair's snub was because of their limited availability during the tournament. This year's IPL runs from April 8 to May 22, and England players are expected to miss the end of the season to prepare for their Test series against Sri Lanka which begins in Cardiff on May 26.
"They are world-class bowlers and would have done fantastically well at the IPL," Collingwood said. "It is a surprise, but I think it's down to their availability."
Collingwood, who will join Shane Warne at the Rajastan Royals, called for an IPL window to allow all players the chance to play in the tournament.
"Ideally that would be fantastic so that all the players could be involved 100% on a level playing field," he said. "That's not going happen probably in the next few years because of the schedules that are coming up.
"It's great that there are more English players in the auction this time even if it hasn't worked out hugely for them."
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