Zak Crawley plans to enter next year’s Indian Premier League auction to further his England white-ball credentials after a superb Test summer.
Last IPL auction, Crawley’s England team-mates Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Harry Brook all earned upwards of £1.3 million.
Crawley, who scored 480 runs at an average of 53.33 in the Ashes, has targeted England’s white-ball tour to West Indies in December as he looks to become a three-format international player. The series follows on from the ODI World Cup in India, and England are likely to use it to give opportunities to some fringe players.
“If they want me for that tour I’d absolutely love to go,” Crawley told Telegraph Sport. “We’ll have to see how selection goes but the Caribbean is an awesome place to play. And I haven’t had the chance to go on a white-ball tour for England yet so any opportunity I get would be awesome.”
Crawley’s only three white-ball games for England were three ODIs against Pakistan in 2021, when he was part of the new squad selected after an outbreak of Covid-19. He scored 97 runs at an average of 48.5 batting at No3 in the series, suggesting that his talents could be well-suited to the white-ball game.
“I really enjoyed playing in those and I felt like I played nicely without getting a big score. So it’d be nice to have another crack at it,” said Crawley.
Alex Hales’s recent retirement from international cricket has also created a potential new berth as opener in T20s, although competition is intense with Phil Salt and Will Jacks among the young batsmen who feature prominently in England’s plans.
“There’s obviously a few guys ahead of me at the moment, but if I score some runs then hopefully my name starts getting thrown in the hat,” said Crawley, speaking at the launch of KP Snacks’ community cricket pitches initiative. “Only runs will solve that.”
Success in overseas franchise leagues would also help Crawley’s England ambitions. He appeared for Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash in Australia at the start of the year and hopes to return to the competition when it resumes.
“I went to the Big Bash last year and loved it so if they would want me back then that would certainly be something I’d consider,” he said, while confirming his IPL aspirations.
“If I was good enough one day to play in the IPL and someone wanted me then I’d absolutely love to go.
“It’s the biggest franchise tournament in the world. And so it’s the only place to see all the best playing against each other. So it’s great cricket and to be able to test yourself in that tournament would be awesome.”
After the Ashes, Crawley missed only one game with London Spirit before beginning his Hundred campaign. It is the start of an extended period of white-ball cricket for Crawley, with England’s next Test match not until January in India.
“I probably haven’t played as much white-ball as I would have liked, missing the Blast in the last few years and the Hundred, there has always been a Test series,” he said. “I’m glad that the schedule now has allowed for the full Hundred. That’s why I was very keen to get going and play some white-ball cricket. It looks like it’s going to be the future of the game so you don’t want to be left behind.”
KP Snacks are funding 100 new community cricket pitches over the next three years. To find out more and search for a pitch visit: www.everyonein.co.uk/pitchfinder
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