IPL 2021: 5 Punjab Kings (PBKS) Players Who Might Miss The UAE Leg Of The Tournament

The remainder of the 14th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) will take place in the United Arab Emirates, immediately after the culmination of India’s five-match Test series against England in the UK.

However, the biggest issue facing the BCCI and franchises is regarding the availability of overseas players for the UAE leg.

The ECB has already made it clear that it will not allow its players to feature in the IPL even if they are not involved with the national team at the time.

If other boards follow suit, then it could create a real issue for all the franchises, including Punjab Kings.

On that note, here’s a look at 5 Punjab Kings (PBKS) Players Who Might Miss The UAE Leg Of The IPL 2021:

Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan featured in just three games for Punjab Kings during the India-leg of IPL 2021. In 3 games, Jordan claimed two wickets at an average of 38 and an economy rate of 8.44.

Jordan is a crucial part of England’s T20I set-up and with Ashley Giles making it clear that no English player will be allowed to feature in the UAE leg of the IPL, we may have seen the last of Jordan this year.

“We have a full schedule if we go from the end of the fifth Test in September. We are set to leave for Bangladesh in the next couple of days. We have a full schedule right through, including Pakistan and wherever the T20 World Cup is,” said Giles.

“We are going to have to give some of these guys a break at some point. But the intention of giving guys a break for, say, Bangladesh wouldn’t be for them to go and play cricket elsewhere,” he said.

“We have to manage our schedule now, so we get our guys arriving in the best shape possible for the T20 World Cup and Ashes,” added Giles.

Dawid Malan

The No.1 ranked T20I batter in the world, Dawid Malan warmed the bench for the first 7 games that Punjab Kings played as he watched Nicholas Pooran register one duck after another.

And, when he did get an opportunity, the IPL got suspended due to Covid. In the solitary game that he played, Malan managed 26 runs at a strike rate of 100.

Malan is a vital cog in the English T20I set-up and with the Eoin Morgan-led unit set to play in Pakistan and Bangladesh around the same time, his solitary IPL outing may well be his last in the 14th season.

Moises Henriques

Moises Henriques featured in three out of the eight games that the KL Rahul-led Punjab Kings played in IPL 2021 before the tournament got suspended due to Covid.

In three games, Henriques claimed a solitary wicket at an average of 24 but he was quite economical as he went for just 4.8 per over. He, however, failed to do anything with the bat as he managed just 16 runs across two innings.

Henriques had been drafted in Australia’s T20I squad for the series against the West Indies and Bangladesh and with the T20 World Cup coming up, the all-rounder may choose to skip the IPL in order to keep himself mentally and physically fresh for the quadrennial event.

Also, it remains to be seen whether Cricket Australia will allow him to take part in the competition in the first place.

Jhye Richardson

Jhye Richardson was picked up at a whopping sum of Rs 14 Crore by the Punjab Kings during the 2021 IPL auction.

But the right-arm Aussie pacer failed to justify his price tag and was dropped from the playing 11 after three underwhelming performances.

In 3 matches, Richardson managed just three wickets at a cost of 117 runs with his economy rate being 10.63.

The Western Australia cricketer has been picked in the national sides’ T20 squad for the series against West Indies and Bangladesh.

With him set to spend such a long time in the bio bubble, Richardson may look to skip the IPL in order to keep himself mentally and physically fresh for the T20 World Cup, should he get selected for the same.

Riley Meredith

Riley Meredith was picked for Rs 8 Crore by the Punjab Kings during the 2021 IPL auction.

The right-handed pacer endured a poor start to his maiden IPL campaign but as the tournament progressed,  he impressed with his searing pace even though he failed to pick up wickets at regular intervals.

In 5 matches, he managed just 4 wickets at an average of 42.25 and an economy rate of 9.94.

Meredith, just like Jhye Richardson, has been picked in the Australian squad for the T20I series against the West Indies and Bangladesh.

And, the right-handed bolter may well skip the season due to bubble-fatigue issues.

Also Read: IPL 2021: Team Wise List Of Players Who Might Miss The UAE Leg Of The Tournament