Will skip 2013 IPL to stay fresh for England: James Anderson

James Anderson, the England fast bowler, has said he will forgo potential IPL riches in order to be rested and fit England’s back-to-back Ashes campaigns that kick off in 2013. The next IPL player auction will be held on 3 Februrary, 2013, but Anderson has said he will not be part of it. “I won’t be putting my name forward,’ Anderson told the Daily Mail. ‘We’ve got a huge 12 months ahead of us and, as appealing as the IPL is, I don’t think this year is an appropriate time to go.” [caption id=“attachment_567914” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  MS Dhoni said James Anderson was the difference between England and India in the recently concluded Test series. PTI[/caption] England’s players have typically not featured in the IPL as their home season conflicts with the Twenty20 tournament. The only two players with contracts for the 2013 tournament are Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan - with the Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders respectively. Anderson was part of last season’s auction with a base price of $250,000, but found no takers because of the small window available for England players to participate. However, this year, thanks to England’s Test series victory, England’s players have a greater appeal and Dhoni himself said Anderson was the difference between the two sides. Still, the circumstances were not enough to change Anderson’s mind. The fast bowler told the paper that England is his priority and he wants to be in the best shape he can be not just for the Ashes series, but also for England’s other international commitments, including playing New Zealand home and away. Anderson did admit he wanted to play the one-day series in India – the ECB has decided to rest him – but said resting was the right decision given how his body felt. Read the full interview here.