England IPL Players To Miss First Test Against New Zealand If Their Teams Make It To IPL 2021 Playoffs: Chris Silverwood

As the IPL 2021 dates and schedule were announced, things have become clearer for the franchises and foreign players to make their arrangements for the most popular T20 league in the world.

Amidst this, England head coach Chris Silverwood has confirmed that the country’s IPL bound players will be available for the entire tournament, which means if their team reaches the playoffs, they might miss the Test series against New Zealand at home.

The IPL 2021 schedule was confirmed on Sunday (March 7) with the play-offs taking place on May 25, 26, and 28 and the final set for May 30, all at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Meanwhile the first of the two Tests between England and New Zealand begins from June 2 at Lord’s, which just two days after the final of IPL 14.

“Difficult To Change Anything” In Terms Of The IPL: Chris Silverwood

The ECB has allowed its players to play in the entire IPL and is reluctant to go back on that agreement. Also, the upcoming Test series between England and New Zealand is not part of the ICC World Test Championship, which will see India and New Zealand clash at the Lord’s from June 18-22.

“It’s difficult to change anything so they’ll be staying for the whole IPL as it stands, yes. Listen, we’ll be looking at the Test series and working our way back to see what sort of preparation we need and we haven’t done that at this time. It’s something we will be doing,” Silverwood was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

England might want its players to have a minimum of 3 days of red-ball training before the Test series, which means the like of Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali, and other England players would need to leave IPL by May 30. But they need to be home much earlier to recover from their journey from India.

Of course, if none of the Test players reach the knock-out stages of the IPL, England could have a full-strength team to choose from against New Zealand. However, if the Rajasthan Royals made the IPL final, England may miss the services of Stokes, Buttler, and Archer for the first Tests.

Also Read: Explained: What Will Happen If The ICC World Test Championship Final Ends In A Draw