England wicketkeeper Matt Prior has offered his availability by signing up for the auction held by Indian Premier League, which is scheduled to being from February 3. Though the in-form player has signed up for the auction, Prior humbly maintains that playing for England is his top priority before anything else. The Sussex player is currently enjoying a successful stint in India after playing a remarkable role in Tests that helped his team in winning the series with 2-1 already.
Prior is in Ranchi to face India during the 3rd One Day International as part of the five-match series that both sides share 1-1. After the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan, it is Prior who has been left awe with the tremendous success of the IPL in recent times. Stressing on the same, the celebrity player has claimed that he can play to his best if selected by one of the franchises. Pune Warriors India (PWI) and Mumbai Indians (MI) were already seen desperately gunning for Oz Test skipper Michael Clarke. The 31-year-old Australian cricketer has already quit Twenty20 to concentrate more on Test cricket and ODIs.
Meanwhile, there is so much of confidence exhibited by Prior because of the fact that he is already aware of the Indian ground conditions courtesy the recent series with them.
Prior said: "England will always be my priority but, as I'm currently only playing one format, I have decided to go into this year's IPL auction.
"It's an amazing competition and fingers crossed I get an opportunity this year.
"I've had success in Indian conditions and hope to get the chance to improve on that. We'll see what happens in the auction."
If it was destructive New Zealand skipper Brendan McCullum who provided the initial platform for IPL on its claim to popularity, the heroics of players like West Indian batsman Chris Gayle has provided international fame to the game already. However, the cap on hiring international players would limit the options of buying international players for their respective franchises. Class players like Pietersen and Warner have left their own mark on the IPL tournament by coming good at crucial junctures.
More fireworks are expected this season with many international players raring to give a glimpse of their skills. Eventually, this will help them in getting selected for their respective national sides. One of such players is Morne Morkel who is the bowling mainstay for Delhi Daredevils. The Proteas speedster is now a regular feature of the team courtesy IPL.
Back home, Ravindra Jadeja made most of the IPL after he was first selected for Rajasthan Royals (RR) during the inaugural edition. It was at that time that RR skipper and coach made maximum use of the all-rounder abilities of Jadeja that offered him a Test cap. Currently, the Saurashtra cricketer is playing a key role in the ODI series against England.
As far as Prior is considered, the England cricketer expects to improve his performance by playing active cricket. Craig Kieswetter is currently being preferred to Prior as England's wicketkeeper in limited format of cricket.
