The Indian Premier League is a lure that not many can avoid.
All the glamour and the money that flies around in the air is something that
always attracts the players to it like nectar entices honeybees. However, there
are also some that can shun the lure of the most popular domestic T20 league in
the world.
And Mitchell Marsh is one of them. The Australian
all-rounder has opted against playing in the Indian Premier League to play
County cricket in England in an attempt to improve his technique and become a
consistent figure in Tests.
According to Marsh, while the decision was a little
difficult to take due to the financial aspect of it, he chose sacrifice that in
order to become a better Test batsman. Another
reason that he stated was the number of matches Australia will have to play in
England in the future, which is what made it an obligation for him to
understand the conditions better.
"It was a fairly big decision from a money point of
view but my ultimate goal is to play Test match cricket for Australia,"
Marsh was quotes as saying on Cricinfo. "That's the lure of the IPL - the money and playing
in India, but I made the decision based on my cricket.
"When I made that decision I didn't really think I was
going to be back there this quickly. But I'm really looking forward to the
opportunity to play 14 red-ball games over there - if I can, and try and
improve.
"Looking forward we've got a lot of cricket coming up
in England over the next few years and I want to give myself the best
opportunity to be over there and get used to the conditions."
Marsh also revealed that he spoke to the coach Darren
Lehmann, Justin Langer and his father, Geoff Marsh, before making the decision, which was
complete taken on the basis of his desire.
"I spoke to Boof [Darren Lehmann] about it, spoke to Justin Langer about it - and obviously my old man. They all said it was a good idea but ultimately the decision was mine and I'm very happy with it."
Picture credit: Getty Images
