England will always come before IPL’s riches, declares Morgan

Eoin Morgan has promised that his England place will always be his priority ahead of a money-spinning turn in the Indian Premier League.

The English cricketing schedule is in direct conflict with the lucrative Twenty20 competition – a sensitive situation that has come to a head in the fallout from the Kevin Pietersen saga. Morgan’s Kolkata Knight Riders deal makes him one of the few England players with an IPL contract other than Pietersen at Delhi Daredevils.

Pietersen faces an uncertain international future after sending inappropriate text messages to opponents in the South Africa side and team director Andy Flower has pointed to the IPL as a possible “catalyst” for a series of events that led to the batsman being dropped for the third Test.

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Pietersen has previously been made available to the IPL for a limited period but it is believed he was keen to stay for a full campaign next year, therefore skipping two home Tests against New Zealand.

He bizarrely took to YouTube to recommit himself to England, a gesture which has yet to pay dividends, and Morgan yesterday confirmed he would always give England precedence.

The Dubliner, who will line up against the Proteas in today’s second one-day international, is currently out of the Test reckoning but would gladly cast aside his KKR commitments for another chance.

“If it came about that I was back in the team during the IPL I’d be the happiest bloke in the world,” he said.

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“If I’m involved in international cricket, it always takes priority and if I’m within one or two positions (of a recall) I’ll probably make the decision myself to come back and play county cricket.

“The bigger picture for me is playing Test cricket.

“The IPL has been around now for five years and nothing has changed. There are always conflicting schedules no matter which country you play with.

“If you can play, great, if you can’t, no worries.”

De Villiers is expecting to be without Dale Steyn (neck) and Albie Morkel (ankle) for today’s match at the Ageas Bowl, meaning South Africa should name an unchanged XI from the washout in Cardiff.

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