Samit Patel has been given permission by Nottinghamshire to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for more than the 15 days to which the centrally contracted England players will be limited. Patel, the England one-day all-rounder, has his county’s blessing to play in the whole tournament, which runs from April 10 to May 24, should any franchise want him, but he would have to return before the IPL play-offs for England’s one-day series at home to West Indies.
One year ago, Patel, 24, was barely on England’s radar, let alone that of the media moguls and liquor barons who own Twenty20 clubs in India. A former England Under-19 captain, he had plodded along for several years without quite fulfilling the talent that had given him a second XI debut for Nottinghamshire when he was 14 and his first-team debut at 17.
He is a top-order batsman who can bowl a bit – in 2007, he made four first-class hundreds and averaged 51, a mark he repeated last season – but it was as a limited-overs spin bowler who could add quick runs that he earned his first England selection.
After a wicket in each of his first two one-day internationals, Patel drew attention with five for 41 as England beat South Africa at the Brit Oval to win their first series under Kevin Pietersen’s captaincy. In the Stanford Super Series in November, he was the only England batsman to show much backbone, making 22 off 24 balls before being run out, and he made some good starts with the bat in England’s 5-0 defeat in India but his bowling has not stood out.
Although Patel has been linked with Delhi Daredevils, the franchise say that they have not made an approach. Patel would take his place on the auction of players for the IPL on February 6 only if a club had expressed an interest in signing him. Nottinghamshire have recently signed Alistair Brown and Jason Brown to bolster their batting and spin bowling should Patel or their other England players be wanted by the IPL.
Dimitri Mascarenhas was the only Englishman to play in the first IPL last year, but several centrally contracted players, including Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, are expected to feature in this year’s auction, even if the ECB restricts their participation to a window from April 10 to 25.
Pietersen was always going to attract the most interest and his price, which could be close to £1 million, will not have dropped despite resigning the England captaincy. Bangalore Royal Challengers have been courting Pietersen for months, but could find themselves in a bidding war.
Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders have made positive noises, but Pietersen would be a more attractive asset – and command more money – if he could negotiate a longer window from the ECB. “We all know he will be worth gold, but his price will dip if he is available for only 15 days,” one franchise official said.
source:the london times
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