Lee: IPL needs England players

AUSSIE pace ace Brett Lee wants his England pals Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen to join the Indian Premier League revolution.
The mega-bucks tournament gets underway tomorrow with centrally-contracted England stars prevented from taking part either this season or next.
The ECB's stance has caused rumblings in the England camp, with players frustrated at their potential loss of earnings.
Star batsman Pietersen described the situation as “ridiculous”, while others have admitted it is only a matter of time until they join.
And now Lee has echoed the calls for England's biggest players to feature in the Bollywood-style Twenty20 competition.
He told SunSport: “I would definitely like to see those guys feature — and the way things are looking that will happen.
“There are a lot of different countries and cultures in the IPL and it’s weird that no English players are involved.
“From a spectator’s point of view it would be great to get them in."

Lee, who will turn out for The King's XI Punjab, struck up friendships with Flintoff and Pietersen during the epic 2005 Ashes series.
And having seen the pair at their best, the pace ace believes they are more than suited to the Twenty20 format.
He said: “I recently read that Flintoff is coming back from injury and that’s great news for the game.
“It would be a daunting prospect if the likes of Freddie or KP were in full flight.
“They smash the ball a mile when playing Test cricket — so in Twenty20 cricket they’d be scary for us bowlers.”

BRETT LEE has revealed he cannot wait to face his Aussie team-mates in the Indian Premier League.

The express bowler is one of the star players in the tournament’s first season, having signed up to play for Mohali outfit The King's XI Punjab.

With his first game against The Chennai SuperKings, Lee will come up against some of his international friends.

And the lightening fast bowler admits he has no qualms about sending down his trademark 95mph thunderbolts.

He told SunSport: “The IPL is exciting to say the least – with the Indian crowds and the big profile of the tournament.

“But for me it’s the mix of cultures – I’m playing alongside Indian pair Sri Sreesanth and Yuvraj Singh and that’s a great opportunity.

“We’re taking on Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey in our first game and that will be interesting.

“It’s definitely going to be strange, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m used to doing my research on players from other countries.

“But these are guys are obviously class acts and I’ll going out and treating them like any other batsman.

“I’m contracted to a side here and I’ll be trying my heart out like it was a game for Australia.

“So if a bouncer or a yorker is needed to take a wicket, then I have no worries about sending one down.”

Lee enjoys a god-like status in India, an has been mobbed by fans since arriving in the country.

But having hit the top of the music charts with his debut single last year, and recently filming Bollywood flick Victory, it is not just cricket he is famous for.

He said: “I have a real soft spot in my heart for India, ever since my first tour as a junior in 1994.

“The people here are so friendly and they just love cricket.

“I had some success over here with the single, but I did it purely for the fun of it.

“People here are now talking about me as a singer – which is really funny.

“Music is my passion away from cricket, but I’ve also just finished my first Bollywood movie, which was a lot of fun.”