England players unlikely to feature in the remainder of IPL 2021

There are a lot of roadblocks for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the way of conducting the remaining matches of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The T20 extravaganza was suspended after just 29 matches as the bio-secure bubble was breached. The Indian board is now looking forward to conducting the league in the September-October window.

However, there is a big question mark over the availability of many overseas players. While the presence of the Australian players is highly uncertain, it is now learned that the English players may also not be available for the remainder of IPL 2021.  The managing director of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Ashley Giles, has confirmed that they won’t be making any changes to England’s cricket calendar to accommodate IPL 2021. 

In September and October, England are scheduled to travel to Bangladesh and Pakistan for limited-overs tours. The English players have a jam-packed cricketing calendar and Giles has denied making any changes in the schedule. Also, it was speculated that BCCI has requested the ECB to reduce the gap between the second and third Test of the five-match series between India and England.

Reducing the gap between the matches can result in the early wrapping of the five-match Test series and a bigger window for IPL 2021. Notably, India and England are scheduled to play a five-match Test series from August 4 to September 14. However, Giles revealed that they haven’t received any such request from the  Indian board.

Ashley Giles on giving England players a break

“I’m not aware of anything official, any requests to shift anything. As far as we’re concerned and what we’re prepared for, the matches will be where they are. I’m not surprised there are all sorts of speculation. Everyone wants to get their cricket in. But we’ve not received anything official and we’re cracking on. 

“We have a full schedule. If we go from the end of the fifth Test in September, we are set to leave for Bangladesh on September 19 or 20. We have a full schedule right through including Pakistan and wherever the T20 World Cup is,” Giles was quoted as saying in Times Now.

Further, the ECB director reckoned that some big players will be rested for the Bangladesh and Pakistan series. However, during that time, the players won’t be allowed to play cricket elsewhere as a break will be given to keep them fresh for the T20 World Cup and the Ashes. 

“We are going to have to give some of these guys a break at some point. But the intention of giving guys a break for, say, Bangladesh, wouldn’t be for them to go and play cricket elsewhere,” Giles signed off.