Jonny Bairstow believes England will ultimately gain from their players' involvement in the Indian Premier League even if it means they miss some international matches.
The wicketkeeper-batsman, already retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad, watched Thursday's IPL player auction from the England camp in Ahmedabad, the venue for next week's third and penultimate Test match against India.
Chris Morris became the most expensive player bought in the IPL when Rajasthan Royals splashed out $2.25m (£1.6m) on the South Africa all-rounder.
The Chennai Super Kings snapped up Moeen Ali for around $950,000 just days after the off-spinning all-rounder was released by England for a pre-arranged rest break.
It is a far cry from the days when the England management fell out with Kevin Pietersen over the star batsman's involvement in the lucrative Twenty20 tournament.
Shakib al Hasan will skip the forthcoming two-match Test series versus Sri Lanka in April in order to make himself available for the entirety of the IPL 2021 season, reports Cricbuzz.
Posted by Sports Tribune on Thursday, 18 February 2021
England have already rested players from overseas duty this year while accepting they will play in the IPL.
It is also possible that those involved in the IPL play-offs could miss the first Test of their home 2021 season, against New Zealand in June.
Players that could be missing include Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran and Moeen.
But with several members of England's 2019 50-over World Cup-winning side benefiting from IPL experience, Bairstow is in no doubt about the benefits provided by the competition.
The 31-year old Yorkshireman was rested from the opening two matches of England's ongoing Test series in India, which is tied at 1-1 but he could replace the struggling Dan Lawrence in next week's clash in Ahmedabad.
