After days of speculation and expectation, two significant boards have approved their players’ participation in the Indian Premier League’s second and unfinished leg (IPL). The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has received formal notification from Cricket Australia (CA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that they have no objections to its players participating in the IPL, which will be hosted in the UAE from September 19 to October 15.
After the BCCI informed the franchises of the two bodies’ approval, the development was confirmed. On Friday (August 13), IPL COO Hemang Amin called each franchise to advise them of the two boards’ decision, and it is now up to the individual players to decide whether or not to participate. The BCCI has also informed the teams that these players will be accessible until the completion of the tournament.
“We received a call from the IPL office, informing us that the boards of directors have no objections to their players participating. Now it’s up to the players to decide “Chennai Super Kings’ Kasi Viswanathan told Cricbuzz. “Our Australian and English players (Jason Behrendorff, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali) are available,” said the franchise’s CEO, who added that the team had already arrived in Dubai with 12 players. Satish Menon of the Punjab Kings confirmed getting the information from the BCCI.
“The clearance has been communicated to us. The team management will now contact each player separately “The CEO of the Punjab Kings stated. The Punjab Kings include three Australians, Riley Meredith, Moises Henriques, and Jhye Richardson, as well as two English players, Chris Jordan and Dawid Malan.
David Warner has confirmed his availability for Sunrisers Hyderabad, which also has Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow on board (both England). Steve Smith and Marcus Stoinis, both Australians, have already told their Delhi Capitals team that they will be attending the competition. In the IPL 2021, 14 Englishmen and 20 Australians will play for various franchises.
IPL players from England are unlikely to travel to Pakistan.
With the ECB confirming players’ involvement in the IPL, it’s safe to assume that some of England’s first-choice players will miss out on the two Twenty20 Internationals set for Rawalpindi on October 13 and 14. The ECB will adopt the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) formula of sending a side to Pakistan without IPL recruits, as previously reported.