Shane Warne insists Andrew Flintoff will not jeopardise his participation in the Ashes with his IPL involvement.
Spinning legend says Flintoff would not jeopardise Ashes chances
Shane Warne insists Andrew Flintoff will not jeopardise his participation in the Ashes with his IPL involvement.
Flintoff is out of the fourth Test and a doubt for the remainder of England's Caribbean tour with a hip muscle injury.
However, the Lancashire all-rounder will fly out to India for the IPL in April after being bought for £1million by the Chennai Super Kings.
ECB chief David Collier suggested that Flintoff may be banned from taking up his three-week offer of playing IPL cricket if it was seen as a risk to his fitness for a busy summer for England - including the Ashes.
Aussie legend Warne, however, insists that Flintoff would not put the IPL cash ahead of playing for England, and believes there is no way the all-rounder would play if not fully fit.
Ashes target
"The Ashes will be the most important thing to Andrew Flintoff," Warne told
Sky Sports News.
"If the IPL is going to jeopardise him playing for England in the Ashes, then I don't think Andrew Flintoff will go to the IPL. He'll make sure he's 100 per cent fit.
"If he thinks he's fit and he wants to go and play in the IPL, no problem at all."
Warne took 708 Test wickets during his career, 195 of them against England, and he insists that Flintoff needs to play this summer for England to have a chance of regaining the urn.
"England need Andrew Flintoff to play in the Ashes to have a chance," Warne added.
"If Flintoff doesn't play in the Ashes series 2009, Australia will win, no doubt about it."
