The England and Australian players will be available for the remainder of the IPL 2021 but the respective boards have decided to leave the decision on the players.
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When the IPL 2021 dates were announced from September 19 to October 14, there were concerns about the availability of the England and Australia players. The bio-bubble quarantine period was the prime factor in the case of the Australian players availability. The punishing schedule, with Australia playing the ICC World T20 and then the Ashes, was also a big factor. England, on the other hand, also had the ICC World T20, the tours to Bangladesh and Pakistan to consider as well as the Ashes. But now, the official updates are in.
According to a report on Cricbuzz.com, the England Cricket Board and Cricket Australia have said that the players will be available for the second half of the Indian Premier League. However, whether the players want to participate in the IPL is upto them. The Cricbuzz report stated that Hemang Amin, the COO of the IPL, informed all the franchises on August 13. The franchise team managers will now call up the players for their availability for the IPL.
There are a lot of Australian and England players who play a big role in the IPL 2021 for the franchises. Sam Curran and Moeen Ali are vital cogs in the Chennai Super Kings side. Pat Cummins plays a vital role in the Kolkata Knight Riders side. David Warner and Steve Smith have said they will be available for the IPL 2021 for Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals.
However, there is no news about whether Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer will be available for the IPL. Archer is certain to miss out for Rajasthan Royals after a recurrence of an elbow stress fracture. Stokes, on the other hand, has taken an indefinite break from cricket in order to be fresh mentally and also to tend to a finger problem. Punjab Kings have Moises Henriques, Riley Meredith, and Jhye Richardson who make up the bulk of the Aussie bowling.
Apart from Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis will also be available for Delhi Capitals while the England duo of Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow will play for Sunrisers Hyderabad. While Roy is not in contention for the Tests, Bairstow is currently playing the five-Test series against India.
However, during the course of the IPL 2021, England will undertake a tour of Pakistan for two Twenty20 Internationals. The T20Is will be played on October 13 and 14. This will be the first time that England is touring Pakistan after a gap of 16 years. Initially, England was also supposed to tour Bangladesh but that series has been postponed to March 2023. The real reasons for the postponement vary, with the coronavirus protocols in Bangladesh as well as the need to play the IPL 2021 in the UAE at that time.
This development means that many of England’s top players might not make the tour to Pakistan. The England reserve team, that came up during the series against Pakistan, might very well go on and play in the two matches.
Apart from that, New Zealand’s players are also undertaking a tour of Bangladesh and Pakistan in the period from September to October. Tom Latham, who is not part of the IPL, will captain the side. New Zealand will play five T20Is against Bangladesh and then will visit Pakistan for three ODIs and five T20Is. Latham and Ross Taylor will be the key, with Taylor only playing the ODIs against Pakistan. There is no Tim Southee while Kane Williamson and Trent Boult will resume IPL duties. Colin de Grandhomme, Henry Nicholls, Doug Bracewell and Matt Henry will be part of the series in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
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