IPL 2021: England Players Likely To Miss Play-Off Matches - Reports

If the latest reports are to be believed, then England’s players who have been chosen in the T20 World Cup squad and who will also play in the IPL 2021, both to take place in the UAE, are most likely not to be available for the knockout stages of the tournament, if their teams qualify.

As already reported, several of the England players have already opted out of the upcoming second phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021), which begins on September 19 with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) clashing with one another. The reason given for the withdrawal of players like Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan is mostly that they want to be fresh for the T20 World Cup 2021 and spend time with their families.

England Players Likely To Miss The Play-Off Stages Of IPL 2021 If Their Franchises Qualify

The reports say that England is due to play two T20Is in Pakistan on October 14 and 15 and will arrive in the country on October 9 to prepare. Both matches will be played in Rawalpindi and are seen as England’s build-up to the T20 World Cup. The team will also play a couple of warm-up matches in UAE and hence the team management wants all the players available.

The England players’ IPL commitments will end at the conclusion of the group stages on October 8.

The first qualifier will be played on October 10 and the eliminator will be played on October 11. The second qualifier is scheduled for Oct 13 and the final will be played on October 15. As it stands, franchises that might qualify for the playoffs stage might request special permission to keep their England players longer, though it remains to be seen whether ECB would agree or not.

Liam Livingstone, who is missing Lancashire’s last two County Championships to play in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals could also miss the qualifiers if RR qualifies.

The most hard-hit franchise would be MS Dhoni’s CSK, which has Sam Curran and Moeen Ali and is looking good to qualify for the playoffs with 5 wins already from 7 matches. Tom Curran is playing for Delhi Capitals who currently sit top of the table and look well placed to make the knock-out stages too.

Only RCB is one franchise, whose England player Georgie Garton is not named in England’s T20 World Cup squad. England’s opening group game of the World Cup is on October 23 against West Indies.

Also Read: IPL 2021: If CSK Start Slowly In First Two Matches, They Will Still Be Able To Qualify For Playoffs: Gautam Gambhir