Postponement Of Bangladesh Tour Provides Opportunity For England Players To Be Available For IPL, Says ECB Chief Executive

Tom Harrison, the chief executive of England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), hinted that the England players will be available for the second half of the IPL 2021, to be played in the UAE from September 19 to October 15. This development comes after England’s white-ball tour of Bangladesh, which clashed with the UAE leg of the IPL, was postponed to March 2023.

The ECB and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) mutually agreed to postpone the tour which comprised 3 ODIs and as many T20Is, ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Also, earlier, in May this year, Ashley Giles, the managing director of England men’s cricket, had stated that the ECB wouldn’t make any changes to their plans to accommodate the IPL after the tournament was halted mid-season due to covid-19 outbreak in multiple franchises.

However, now with the Bangladesh tour not happening this year, the English players involved in the IPL, which are plenty in number, are likely to feature in the remainder of the IPL 2021.

“With respect to the IPL, we are going to have discussions with all our players and with the postponement of the Bangladesh tour, that provides an opportunity for the players to present themselves for the IPL,” Tom Harrison said in a media interaction on Thursday.

“Players are going to have to manage their schedules because we have a busy winter and that comes on the end of a busy summer. Those discussions are underway, but obviously, on a case-by-case basis, those decisions will be made with the players,” he added.

We fully expect to go to Pakistan for our two-match T20I series: England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) CEO Tom Harrison

England’s white-ball captain, Eoin Morgan, had already confirmed that he will return to lead the Kolkata Knight Riders in the UAE; there hasn’t been any announcement from other players.

But, it is also to note that England are also scheduled to tour Pakistan for a couple of T20Is on October 14 and 15 just ahead of the World Cup. Harrison said they are confident for the tour to go ahead, their first to Pakistan in 17 years. It remains to be seen if the English players who qualify for the playoffs continue in the IPL or return to the national side for the matches in Pakistan.

“We fully expect to go to Pakistan for our two-match T20I series in the run-up to the ICC T20 World Cup. That would be the first time England would go to Pakistan since 2004. It is very important for us, strategically it is important because teams are starting to go back to Pakistan and we fully want to show our support towards a fellow member of the ICC,” Tom Harrison added.

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