IPL 2021: Kevin Pietersen looks for his old tweet after ECB takes a U-turn on English players' availability
Kevin Pietersen asked his social media followers to look for his old tweet after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) allowed all their players to participate in the second phase of IPL 2021.
When the IPL 2021 was suspended earlier this year, the ECB stated that the team management wanted all English players to be available for their international games in 2021. Due to this reason, there was a massive question mark over the English stars' availability for the second phase of the IPL.
The England cricket team was scheduled to play an away series against Bangladesh later this year. If the tour happened as per the original schedule, quite a few English players would have missed IPL 2021. However, the ECB has now postponed the Bangladesh tour to 2023.
Hence, all members of the England cricket team can play in IPL 2021. Reacting to this development, former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen tweeted:
"Can anyone find my tweet from a few months ago when ECB said none of their players will play the IPL and will have to prioritise International cricket. I think I said, watch this space or something……."
When I went up against the board, I was alone: Kevin Pietersen's old tweet goes viral after IPL 2021 news
Kevin Pietersen's fans soon found his old tweet, where he recalled how he once fought with the ECB to be available for the IPL. Pietersen had commented that if all English players participating in the IPL 2021 united, then the board would allow them to return to the league.
"It’s going to be v interesting to watch how the ECB handle this issue around not allowing it’s best players to play IPL, if it’s rescheduled. When I went up against ENG, I was alone.This time, it’s all their best branded players! If they stand together, they’ll play IPL!" Pietersen had tweeted.
Now that English players are available for IPL 2021, all franchises should have a full-strength squad. IPL 2021 will resume on September 19 in the UAE.