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ToggleFormer England captain Michael Vaughan has cited the example of Jofra Archer and mentioned that the strict life in COVID-19 bio-bubbles and a long time away from home may cause many more England players to return home before the IPL 2021 begins or midway in the tournament.
The IPL 2021 begins on April 9 and will be played without crowds in six cities in India- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Ahmedabad. The Narendra Modi Stadium will also host the playoffs and the final of IPL 2021 on May 30.
Jofra Archer Could Pull Out Of The Whole Tournament: Michael Vaughan
England pacer Jofra Archer has returned home without playing in the ODI series due to constant elbow niggle and also made himself unavailable for the first part of the IPL 2021. Michael Vaughan felt that Archer could actually miss the entire tournament given the mental toll of being away from your home for the IPL.
“You look at Jofra Archer now, he’s missing with that elbow injury, that needs rest and there is no time limit on how long it’s going to take. So again, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Jofra Archer misses the whole of the IPL, we’ll have to wait and see,” said Michael Vaughan.
Won’t Be Surprised If 2-3 More England Players Pull Out Of The IPL 2021: Michael Vaughan
There is a strong England contingent in the Indian Premier League with the likes of Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Tom Curran, Sam Curran, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, and Sam Billings being the prominent ones.
“Unfortunately, for the overseas players, the IPL is such a long tournament…it wouldn’t surprise me if one or two of the England players pull out of the IPL. Not the whole of it, but midway through they might say that ‘look we have had enough of this bio-bubble and we need to get out of it,” Vaughan added.
“Players and the have to be true to themselves and also the management has to be true to the players. So if a player is struggling I don’t think any management group around the world will be concerned if a player says ‘Look I am struggling in this bubble I need to get back’.” He said.
All of the England players have been part of the team’s tightly-packed winter, spending months hopping from one isolated environment to another.