IPL 2021: England players unavailable for remainder of the tournament

Former spinner and the England and Wales Cricket Board managing director Ashley Giles has recently stated that players such as Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali and Bens Stokes are expected to miss out from the remaining of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season. If the star studded is held later this year, it his highly improbable for the England cricketers to take part, considering the busy international schedule they now have.

“If those tours go ahead I’d expect them (players) to be there. We’re planning on the involvement of England players in England matches,” Ashley Giles told the media.

The IPL 2021 kicked off in April but was later suspended indefinitely on May 4 due to the rising COVID-19 cases in India, as well as some players getting infected with it. The tournament could complete 29 matches.

When will IPL 2021 Resume?

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has stated that the IPL 2021 is suspended and will take place somewhere down the line. It is being speculated that venues such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), England, Australia and Sri Lanka are being considered as options for the rest of the games to take place. The BCCI president also stressed on the fact on how monumental the losses could be if the remainder of the IPL doesn’t take place, and is hence, likely to take place prior to the ICC T20 World Cup in October.

However, the England cricket team are scheduled for a tour to Bangladesh and Pakistan during that time frame, as they will also have to prepare for the T20 World Cup.

“If those tours go ahead I’d expect them (players) to be there. We’re planning on the involvement of England players in England matches,” Ashley Giles recently said.

Previously, Ashley Giles had confirmed that the England players who were in the latter stages of the IPL could miss out the two-match Test series versus New Zealand, which started on June 2. But, the reason for that was due to the English players honoring the contract. Giles spoke about the uncertainty of the resumption of the IPL as well, and about the games that will be coming thick and fast for England.

England Players to miss out IPL 2021

“None of us knows what a rearranged IPL looks like at the moment; where it’s going to be or when. But when from when we start this summer against New Zealand, our programme is incredibly busy. We’ve got a lot of important, high profile cricket including the T20 World Cup and the Ashes, and we’re going to have to look after our players.

“The New Zealand scenario was very different. Those matches were formalised at the end of January, by which time contracts were signed for players to have full involvement in the IPL,” he added.

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