England is great Alastair Cook Reigniting the debate about Jacob Bessel intense pulsed light And said international cricket should always take priority over franchise leagues. His comments resurfaced after Besser was ruled out of this year’s hundred with a knee injury, denying him valuable match practice ahead of England’s series against Pakistan. Cook, while speaking on the Stick to Cricket podcast with Mo Bobat and Dinesh Karthik, reiterated his previous criticism of Bethell remaining in the IPL despite limited opportunities.“I would say, I think that’s where it really matters. I came here for a Test match a week later and one of our number threes (on the bench)… I think English cricket is more important than the IPL or the franchise, and that’s really important. That’s what I think and obviously, I’m not allowed to think like that because the IPL is the best tournament in the world,” the former captain said. Cook also questioned the value of Besser spending another IPL season on the bench, adding: “So I take this from Jacob Besser, who was on the bench the year before and learned from all those players who were on the bench and then they were also on the bench and not playing. I’m sitting here with my No.3 team that I actually really want to win and that’s England, no disrespect to RCB and all these teams and I want England to be the most successful team.“Cook’s comments drew fresh attention after Besser, who was captaining Birmingham Phoenix when he was forced to withdraw from the hundred after suffering a knee injury during England’s ODI series against India. The setback also raised doubts over his availability for England’s upcoming Test series against Pakistan.Earlier this year, Besser defended his decision to stay with Royal Challengers Bangalore amid limited game time, saying there was “no right or wrong way” and insisted that training in the IPL helped his development even if he did not play matches.
