England fast bowler Mark Wood must have thought what if after hearing the astronomical money pacers attracted during the IPL 2021 auction in Chennai this week. The likes of Chris Morris, Kyle Jamieson, Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith shattered records with the franchises breaking the bank to secure their services.
Wood had taken off his name from the list of the players a day before the auction. However, the world cup winner has no regrets despite terming it as a ‘difficult decision’ as he gave preference to spending time with family and playing for England.
“Obviously there have been some big names going for big money and it’s great for them. It’s life-changing money which is why it was such a difficult decision for me,” Wood said on Friday during a virtual media press conference.
“First and foremost, it was for my family. I’m going to spend six weeks here in India and it would have been another eight weeks on top of that. The second reason, of course, is being ready for England. I don’t want my body to fail me or be a bit bruised mentally or physically for the back end of the year when it’s the World Cup and Ashes, or in the summer when it’s a big series against India at home.”
Wood has previously played for Chennai Super Kings in the cash-rich league and admitted that playing in competitive T20 tournament would have helped him as a cricketer.
“Although it’s life-changing money and an opportunity, I’m comfortable with my decision and I hope it serves me well in the long term. I made the decision by myself, I spoke to my family about it, spoke to my agent. It would have helped me improve as a cricketer, it was a huge opportunity for me to improve my wage,” he said.
Woods is currently gearing up for the third Test against India, hoping to make the cut in England’s playing XI for the day-night contest set to start from February 24.