The Indian Premier League has been extremely beneficial for us, says ECB managing director Ashley Giles, who feels English cricketers’ presence in the lucrative tournament has helped the national team in achieving the No.1 rank in white-ball formats.

Earlier this week, England’s star player Jos Buttler said that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had never asked him to skip the popular T20 event to be available for the Test series against New Zealand, which is set to clash with the final stages of the IPL.

“In my briefings, I have encouraged the players to think very carefully about what their programmes are. I have not directed them,” Giles told Sky Sports. “We aren’t forcing either way. The IPL isn’t going anywhere. It has extreme benefits for us.

“Years ago we found it very difficult for players to get into the IPL. Now all of our players are in high demand and it’s probably the big reason why we are No.1 in world in both white-ball formats,” Giles said.

There are 12 England cricketers, some with million dollar contracts, playing in the IPL — Buttler, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer for Rajasthan Royals, Moeen Ali and Sam Curran for Chennai Super Kings, Tom Curran for Delhi Capitals and Dawid Malan for Punjab Kings.

The IPL is slated to begin from April 9 with the final scheduled to be played on May 30, while England’s opening Test against New Zealand begins on June 2.