IPL 2021: New Zealand players likely to skip league if it takes place in September - Reports
In what will come as a big blow for IPL 2021, New Zealand players are likely to miss the league if it gets rescheduled for September. The news comes days after ECB Director of Cricket Ashley Giles confirmed that English players are unlikely to be available if IPL 2021 takes place later this year.
The BCCI is pondering a September window to play the remaining IPL 2021 games. There are a few spare weeks between the India vs England Test series and the start of the T20 World Cup. Although the venue is yet to be finalized, multiple reports suggest the BCCI is looking into the possibility of holding IPL 2021 during the aforementioned window.
According to reports, a rescheduled IPL 2021 will have to be conducted without New Zealand players. This is because New Zealand are scheduled to play 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is against Pakistan in the UAE during the same period. With the white-ball series scheduled for September under the Future Tours Programme (FTP), New Zealand Cricket is not in a position to cancel or postpone the series.
The Pakistan series will also offer a final opportunity for Kiwi players to play together before the T20 World Cup in October-November. Quarantine restrictions, along with the possible pull of playing T20 cricket in a region where the T20 World Cup may is set to take place, will in all likelihood lead to New Zealand players missing the rescheduled IPL.
Several franchises set to suffer if Kiwi players skip rescheduled IPL 2021
One of the teams that will face a massive blow if New Zealand players opt out of IPL 2021 are the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The franchise appointed Kane Williamson as their captain and will have to make do without their skipper if New Zealand stars miss IPL 2021.
Trent Boult’s absence will also be a setback for the Mumbai Indians, with the speedster being MI’s second-highest wicket-taker this season. Other players to miss the competition will include Adam Milne (Mumbai Indians), Mitchell Santner (Chennai Super Kings), Lockie Ferguson (Kolkata Knight Riders), Tim Seifert (Kolkata Knight Riders), Finn Allen (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Kyle Jamieson (Royal Challengers Bangalore).