Former England captain Alastair Cook has responded to criticism from ex-teammate Kevin Pietersen over his remarks on Jacob Bethell, after suggesting the youngster should consider leaving the Indian Premier League 2026 midway to play County cricket due to limited opportunities.The debate began when Pietersen strongly disagreed with Cook’s view, arguing that being around top-level players in the IPL itself is invaluable. He also questioned Cook’s understanding of the tournament environment, urging Bethell to stay back in India despite not featuring regularly.Cook has now revisited the discussion on the Stick to Cricket podcast, striking a measured tone while standing by his original point. He maintained that his comments were based on Bethell’s lack of game time and noted that circumstances have slightly changed since then, with the youngster getting opportunities as an impact player.“I just gave my opinion. I can justify that at the time he wasn’t playing, and he didn’t play (much) last year either. So, he had that benefit of doing once or twice. In my opinion, he has done a bit of that. Ironically, since all that came out, he has now played a bit,” Cook said on Stick to Cricket podcast.Expanding further, Cook highlighted what he believes is an underlying reality around the league. While acknowledging the IPL’s stature, he suggested that players are unlikely to criticise the competition publicly due to its financial pull and professional implications.“I get the other argument of learning but there’s got to be a stage where you have to play. You can’t just learn from them. I know the IPL is a great tournament, but no one is ever publicly going to say that IPL is not the place to be,” he said.Cook added that while he respects both sides of the argument, contractual commitments and career considerations often influence public opinions about the league.“I actually understand both arguments like he has signed the contract, (so) I’m going to honour my contract. Now, I don’t know what the IPL is like quite clearly, but you hear some of the little undercurrents like it’s not quite as good as everyone thinks it is. I’m not slagging off the IPL – no one ever is going to say it’s terrible because they don’t want to upset their bosses because they want another contract. I actually feel two opinions can be right,” he added.