"Make the sacrifice" - Michael Vaughan wants England stars to skip T20 World Cup for Ashes

Michael Vaughan wants England's multi-format players to skip the upcoming T20 World Cup and prepare for the Ashes tour of Australia instead.

The former captain said England's only chance to beat Tim Paine's team is when they are totally committed towards it. He argued that the opportunity to play in an away Ashes comes once every four years, unlike the T20 World Cup, which will be repeated next year too.

Michael Vaughan also added that England's players choosing the former will give a symbolic boost to the longest format. He wrote in his column for telegraph.co.uk:

"The only chance England have of beating Australia is committing early and getting a group of players together who are ready to go through ten tough weeks. What disappoints me is the fact not one player has said he is willing to miss the Twenty20 World Cup to play in Australia."

Michael Vaughan added:

"We have another T20 World Cup next year but it will be four years before there is another Ashes tour. I would love to hear a player say he will miss the T20 World Cup and the West Indies tour in March to play in the Ashes. What a message that would send about what Test cricket means."

Michael Vaughan also remarked that some players are only doing lip service by calling Test cricket the 'pinnacle'. He urged them to "make the sacrifice" and honor their commitment. The 46-year-old said:

"We can’t have players picking and choosing when they play for England... I have no problem if players choose T20 cricket over Test cricket - that is their choice - but be honest about it. I just get fed up when they say Test cricket is the pinnacle but their actions don’t back it up, they are just saying what people want to hear. If Test cricket really is the pinnacle then show us. Make the sacrifice this winter and go to Australia."

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Out of 15-member England squad for T20 World Cup 2021, at least eight players are first-choice for the Ashes as well. Michael Vaughan's call for a 'sacrifice' from them is a reference to the ongoing tussle between the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and its players regarding the quarantine norms in Australia which have made the situation doubly tricky for Joe Root and co.

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"India proved Australia are beatable" - Michael Vaughan

Further making the case for a committed England team, Michael Vaughan cited the example of India's 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumph to suggest that the Aussies aren't unbeatable at home. He said:

"We cannot have rotation like we did in India. That will not work in Australia, they will be hammered if that happens. Look at India in Australia last winter."

Vaughan added:

"They had a lot of injuries and lost players at crucial times but because they were a strong, committed group of players they defeated Australia. Australia are a good side in their own conditions but India proved they are beatable."

The Ashes is slated to begin on December 8 at The Gabba in Brisbane.