The VIVO IPL 2021 started in April in India but was later postponed in May due to the rising COVID-19 cases in the country. Eventually, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to hold the continuation of the rest of the IPL season starting on September 19 in the UAE.
Since the confirmation of the venue and the dates, it was a matter of waiting game to know the availability of the players. Fans and cricket punters held on to their 10CRIC IPL bet until they know if their favorite cricketers will be available for phase 2 of the biggest cricket tournament worldwide.
The boards said in a statement, “The Afghanistan Cricket Board and Cricket Australia agreed to postpone the tour given the complexities of travel, quarantine periods, and a finding a suitable location for the matches given the relocation of the T20 World Cup to the UAE. With the World Cup relocated from India to the UAE, the ACB will continue to explore the possibility of hosting a proposed T20 tri-series involving Australia and the West Indies.”
The Possibility that Not All Australian Cricketers Will Be Back
Even if CA has already confirmed the availability of their players, it will still be up to the cricketers themselves if they will want to join the upcoming IPL matches. CA said, “No objection certificates will be granted to Australian players wishing to take part in the remaining upcoming Indian Premier League matches to be played in the UAE.”
These certificates will mean that the players opted to participate in the remainder of IPL matches themselves. A player who’s not likely to sign this is fast bowler Pat Cummins. Cummins has already spoken about where he’s at when it comes to attending the IPL in the UAE.
On a YouTube live session, Cummins explained why he won’t be coming back and said, "Unfortunately, at this stage, I don’t think I will go for the IPL. Haven’t made an official call, but Becky, my partner, is pregnant, and our baby is due right in the middle of the IPL. There are also travel restrictions on getting back to Australia. There’s two weeks quarantine, and there’s also quarantine going into the UAE. So, it’s going to be tough to go and play there.”
So far, only Cummins is likely not to return this September.
Players Like Shreyas Iyer and T Natarajan Cleared to Return
Aside from the Australian players, IPL COO Hemang Amin also told the franchises that players who were replaced because of injuries or other personal reasons during the first leg of the IPL are cleared to return on the IPL phase two. The deadline for the submission of the replacement players list will be on August 20.
Amin told the franchises, “If in case any player who was injured or unavailable during the India leg of IPL 2021 and is now fit or available, then the franchise which had taken a replacement player [due to] such previous unavailability, will need to elect [either] one of them."
According to the IPL COO, the players who were brought in as replacements and will not be retained for the second leg will be put into the IPL’s registered pool of players. However, if the original player is released, he will not be part of the registered pool.
One of the players who had to be replaced during the IPL in India is Delhi Capital’s (DC) Shreyas Iyer. This happened after he dislocated a shoulder in March during the ODI series against England in Pune. Iyer is already fit to play once again and he is now in Dubai to join the rest of the contingent next weekend after his mandatory quarantine for a week. DC has not yet made any announcement on whether Iyer will take his leadership duties back from his replacement, Rishabh Pant.
T Natarajan suffered a sore knee and was also taken out of the IPL in late April to undergo surgery. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SH) has not yet made any official announcements on whether the player will be back in September but there is a good chance that he will. SH is now at the bottom of the table after only having one win out of their seven matches of the current season. #KhabarLive #hydnews
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