Kiwis prefer national duty to IPL by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Player:

DL Vettori, BB McCullum

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DateLine: 24th July 2009

 

Six New Zealand cricketers, including skipper Daniel Vettori, have chosen the national team ahead of the Indian Premier League.

 

They have signed their new contracts for the next season despite a clash between a home series and IPL commitments.

 

Vettori, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor were allowed the extra time to confirm their NZC contracts and all 20 players have now signed the national deals, New Zealand Cricket Board said.

 

"This is an admirable decision"

 

The third edition of the cash-awash IPL, which was preponed to accommodate the Twenty20 World Cup, begins in March next year and will overlap with the Australia's tour of New Zealand.

 

"This is an admirable decision by each of these individuals and they should be applauded for it," NZC Chief Executive Justin Vaughan was quoted as saying by 'Cricinfo'.

 

"By signing their contracts they are sacrificing significant sums of money. Their decision helps to reinforce international cricket as the pinnacle of our sport, and clearly shows that representing New Zealand remains the biggest motivating factor for our leading players.

 

Vaughan agreed it was a difficult decision to make and urged for a quick solution to the problem.

 

"We appreciate this issue may recur again and the onus is on international cricket to pro-actively search for solutions so that players are not forced to make such difficult decisions in the future," he added.