After New Zealand, England's IPL 2021-Bound Players Set To Miss Pakistan Tour

A few England players are set to skip the Pakistan tour in order to fulfill their IPL commitments. The decision has come after the England and Wales Cricket Board had announced that their players are available for the franchises in the IPL 2021.

The cash-rich league, which was suspended earlier this year after an outbreak of covid-19 cases, will be resuming from September 19. It will be played in the United Arab Emirates, which will also serve as hosts to ICC’s T20 World Cup just a few days after.

With this in mind, English players have been given permission by their board to prefer the IPL season instead of the international assignment (Pakistan tour). According to a report in Cricbuzz, the cricketers will prioritize the IPL over the two T20I’s against Pakistan scheduled for October 13 and 14.

Earlier, it was reported that New Zealand players will be following the same template. SRH’s Kane Williamson, RCB’s Kyle Jamieson, and MI’s Trent Boult will also feature for their respective franchises. Since the venues for the IPL 2021 and the T20 World Cup are the same, players find it more convenient to participate in these two events.

ECB and Cricket Australia confirm their players’ availability for second leg of IPL 2021

Earlier, ECB and CA had given permission to their respective players to participate in the T20 league. However, whether the players do so is completely up to them, as explained by CSK’s CEO Kasi Viswanathan.

“We have got a call from the IPL office and have been informed that the boards have no objection to their players’ participation. It is now up to the players. Our Australian and English players are available,” he had said.

One such decision has almost been made already by KKR’s Pat Cummins. In his YouTube video, the Australian had said that it was infeasible to attend the IPL as his partner was pregnant and the due date was right in the middle of the second leg of the event. Other Australian players are likely to appear since they had skipped the West Indian and Bangladesh tours in favor of IPL 2021.

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