Wright 'tempted' by Tendulkar's IPL offer

9:31pm Thursday 15th May 2008

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Luke Wright has revealed how he turned down a personal invitation from Sachin Tendulkar to join the Indian Premier League.

Tendulkar contacted the Sussex all-rounder and offered him a six-figure sum to play for Mumbai in the final month of the IPL.

But Wright is determined to establish himself in the England team first, although he admits the offer was very tempting'.

He said: "I was on my way to Southampton to train with England Lions last week and I got a call from Sachin out of the blue.

"It was a special moment talking to a legend like Sachin and it was very tempting because there is obviously money in the IPL, the standard looks unbelievable because the best players in the world are taking part and it's Twenty20, which is a competition I love.

"But it just wasn't the right time. If I hadn't been involved in the England squads I would have been tempted but it's a double-edged sword because if I wasn't involved with England I wouldn't have even been thought about for IPL.

"It was nice to be asked and hopefully there will be a time in the future when it becomes an option. However, the motivation of playing for England is greater than money. If I do well for England those sort of opportunities might come around again but playing for my country is what's driving me on."

Wright, who has played five one-day internationals, is hoping to be involved in the series against New Zealand next month and did his cause no harm last week with 120 for the Lions against the tourists.

He was even mentioned as a possible late call-up for this week's first Test when Paul Collingwood had to undergo a third injection on a shoulder problem.

He added: "It was nice to get runs last week because the selectors were all there watching. All of a sudden I was being mentioned in terms of the Test team because of the injuries to (Andrew) Flintoff and Collingwood.

"It was other people saying it rather than me thinking it but it was still good. I thought I'd have an outside sniff when I got the runs but just to be spoken about was good."