Yorkshire CCC 2018: Test cricket remains the pinnacle for Liam Plunkett

Yorkshire's Liam Plunkett: Not turning his back on the red-ball game.

LIAM PLUNKETT will miss the start of the season after signing a last-minute deal to take part in the Indian Premier League but insists that he has no intention of becoming a white-ball only specialist.

The England star signed for Delhi Daredevils last week as an 11th-hour replacement for the injured South African pace bowler Kagiso Rabada.

Plunkett will miss the first five County Championship games and up to as many fixtures in the 50-over Cup.

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But he said that he had no plans to follow the white-ball path lately travelled by England team-mates Adil Rashid and Alex Hales, both of whom have opted out of red-ball cricket.

“Test cricket is the pinnacle of everything for me,” said Plunkett, who made the last of his 13 Test appearances against India at Lord’s in 2014. “If it happens again, great, although I’m not really thinking about it at the moment.

“I’m looking forward to playing more Championship cricket going forward and doing my best to win games for Yorkshire.

“I enjoy playing Championship cricket and, if that came again (Test cricket), happy days.”

Plunkett, 33, believes Yorkshire will be a force in this year’s tournament.

The club are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2017, when they were somewhat flattered by a fourth-placed finish.

“Last year we didn’t play our best cricket, and this year we know we need to improve,” he said.

“But it’s the fittest group of lads I’ve ever trained with, and we had a good pre-season tour in Potch (Potchefstroom, South Africa).