Paul Collingwood of England is set to visit India in October to take part in the Champions League for the Delhi Daredevils.
Although recent reports had suggested that Collingwood would be seeking a release from his contract, being back from a busy schedule with the English national team. Having played in all the three formats with England, Collingwood would certainly require a deserved rest.
The English skipper, Andrew Strauss, also maintained that the fatigue at the end of a busy season is a major concern for Collingwood, adding, “He’s got a number of niggles that could become concerns if he kept playing. It’s not an ideal situation, but I agree he was looking a bit exhausted which is why he has been pulled out.”
Although Collingwood was allowed by the ECB to rest for the 3 games of the 7 match one day international series against Australia, the bowler is still under contract with the Daredevils outfit who don’t seem to be much bothered about his situation. One of Collingwood’s representatives had commented that that the player looked knackered and would need of a long break, yet the contract asks him to participate in the upcoming Champions League if the team manages to successfully qualify for the tournament.
On the contrary, Chief Operating Officer of the Delhi Daredevils, Amrit Mathur said, “We have been in touch with Collingwood and the response we have got from him is that he is very keen to play in the Champions League. Collingwood has confirmed that he will play and he is part of our 15-member squad for the tournament.”
Despite of several media reports suggesting Collingwood’s lack of interest, Mathur maintained that though he was aware of the reports there was no truth to them and the English international will still play as far as the team is in the picture. Also, when approached, the ECB commented that the issue was further from their authority as the player is under a contract with the IPL team.
According to a report in The Sun a week before, a representative of Collingwood was quoted as saying, “Paul is very tired, he has had a long, hard year. Frankly, he looks knackered and we’re still hoping Delhi will relent. It would be counter-productive for them to have a player who is so obviously in need of a rest.” The representative also added that Collingwood is least bothered about the prize money coming towards him in the event of the team’s success but he feels he needs to rest. This comes rather ironic as Collingwood hadn’t taken any active participation in the team’s IPL season.
Considering England’s still busy schedule with the upcoming ODI series against Australia from 20th September followed by the Champions Trophy in South Africa that finishes on the 5th of October, and the Champions League starting just 3 days after, again followed by England’s winter tour of South Africa on 30th October, Collingwood certainly needs some rest irrespective of anything.