Andy Flower prepared to pull England players out of IPL

Andy Flower has said he would pull his players out of the Indian Premier League in order to keep them fresh for England duty. Graeme Swann and Jimmy Anderson were both snubbed in yesterday's first round of auctioning but Kevin Pietersen, Stuart Broad and Eoin Morgan were all recruited. Anderson and Matt Prior may yet be signed up today. The England coach said the IPL added to an already crowded schedule. "I don't blame any of the players for wanting to go and play," he said in the Mail on Sunday. "But it is tricky because the schedules are so heavy. Rest is sometimes as important as the hard schedules we put them through, especially for our front-line attack. They have made themselves available for the IPL but it is dangerous in terms of the risk of injury and shortening their [cricketing] lifespan." Anderson has been rested for the start of the one-day matches against Australia, which begin on Wednesday in Adelaide with the first of two Twenty20 matches, but though the move could increase the bowler's chances of being fit for the IPL, Flower said he would withdraw him from that too in the interests of the England team, who begin a Test series against Sri Lanka in May. "He has just played five Tests in a row and that's a magnificent achievement in itself, so he has to rest now," Flower said. "But if he has to rest during IPL we will make that decision too. At the moment he is available for IPL but if it is necessary for him to rest, that will happen." Paul Collingwood, who has just retired from Test cricket, said he was surprised that no franchise snapped up Anderson and Swann during the first round of bidding. "They are world-class bowlers and would have done fantastically well at the IPL," said Collingwood, who has been signed by the Rajasthan Royals. "It is a surprise, but I think it's down to their availability."