IPL 2021: KKR skipper Eoin Morgan confirms participation in second leg

England limited-overs and Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan has confirmed his participation in the second leg of the Indian Premier League, which was postponed earlier this year after 29 games due to a spate of Covid-19 cases in the camps of four different teams across two cities.

The rescheduled season will commence in the UAE in September, where the remaining 31 games will be played across three venues (Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah). This was incidentally the same window where England was scheduled to tour Bangladesh for three ODIs and as may T20Is. However, with that tour now postponed to March 2023, all of England’s IPL players are free to resume their duties as the 14^th edition of the IPL resumes.

Both the ECB and BCB mutually agreed upon the rescheduling of the tour.  “The tour is planned to take place in the first two weeks of March 2023, with three ODIs and three T20Is due to take place in Dhaka and Chattogram,” the statements released on August 3 said.

I think it was a win-win either way: Eoin Morgan

Morgan, on Tuesday, stated:  “I think it was a win-win either way. If we went to Bangladesh we’d play in conditions that are foreign to us. If some guys go to the IPL, they’ll play in similar conditions [to the World Cup] or for guys that need a rest, they take a rest.

“We’ve a lot of cricket to play between now and then. We’ve planned on the tour going ahead – that’s been part of our planning for a long time now – but equally, given the nature in which we now compete and live our lives, it’s not a bad thing for guys to either take time off or go to the IPL if they feel refreshed and have enough energy.”

England’s IPL contingent includes Moeen Ali and Sam Curran (Chennai Super Kings), Sam Billings, Tom Curran, and Chris Woakes (Delhi Capitals), Eoin Morgan (Kolkata Knight Riders), Chris Jordan and Dawid Malan (Punjab Kings), Jos Buttler (Rajasthan Royals), and Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy (Sunrisers Hyderabad). Rajasthan Royals also had Liam Livingstone, Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes, although all of them got unavailable during the first leg.