London, Jan. 28 : England fast bowler Stuart Broad has announced that at this stage of his international career, he would like to concentrate on playing for England as much as possible, rather than the Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition, franchises of which are keen to recruit him.

Though the ECB and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed yesterday that England players would be allowed to play in the next two editions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a minimum of three weeks, and granted No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to 13 players who hold a central or an increment contract, six contracted players -- Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Stuart Broad, Michael Vaughan, Matt Prior and Tim Ambrose, have not opted for the NOC.

According to The Times, given the extreme workload - the IPL starts on April 10 - this is a mature decision by Broad, who has put his Ashes ambitions and long-term interests before the desire to earn more money in the short term.

With about ten franchise places available for overseas players in the auction, it is likely that only two or three England players will be picked up.

There has been a shift in ECB policy vis-a-vis the IPL. Until now, any contracted player who wanted to play in the IPL could do so only with the head coach''s permission. While there is no head coach at the moment, it is clear that even if there was, he would have no authority - except on grounds of injury - to prevent a contracted player plying his trade in the IPL.

Yesterday''s announcement confirmed the thaw in relations between the ECB and the BCCI that was evident when England returned to India in December after the Mumbai terror attacks. It is a development that is sure to strengthen Giles Clarke''s position as he seeks re-election as chairman of the ECB. (ANI)