IPL 2021 Phase 2 – Foreign Players’ availability big headache for BCCI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has all but finalised the window for IPL 2021 Phase 2 with the UAE set to host the remaining 31 matches during the September-October window (Sep 15th to Oct 15th). But still the Indian board is very worried. The BCCI is worried and concerned about the availability of the foreign players during the window. Most of the foreign cricketers during this window will busy fulfilling their national commitments.
Be it England, New Zealand, Afghanistan all will be playing for their country in various bilateral series. If that headache wasn’t enough now the Caribbean Premier League has even put availability of the West Indies cricketers for the first 10 days in doubt.
IPL 2021 Phase 2 – Foreign players doubtful? The BCCI plans to finish the remaining IPL 2021 matches immediately after the 5th Test against England with a potential start date of September 15. Considering, the Team India players will join IPL’s bio-bubble directly from England, they will not need to quarantine. However, the same isn’t the case for others.
The ECB has already made it clear that national commitment will take precedence over IPL 2021 with Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and other English players playing Bangladesh and Pakistan in bilateral series.
Furthermore, New Zealand players will also be ruled out if New Zealand Cricket does not tweak its fixtures against Pakistan. Australian players will be busy hosting Sri Lanka while South Africa will host the Netherlands.
The new headache for BCCI is Caribbean Premier League. Cricket West Indies recently announced the schedule for the CPL 2021 that will run from August 28 to September 19. Even if the Caribbean stars join their IPL teams after the CPL 2021 is over, they will be caught up in quarantine protocols in the UAE.
IPL 2021 Remaining Matches: Status of overseas players for September window
England: Unavailable – Bangladesh tour for 3-match ODI and T20Is & then 2 match series in Pakistan
Players who could miss: Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Chris Woakes, Jason Roy, Sam Billings, Dawid Malan, Chris Jordan, Jonny Bairstow
New Zealand: Unavailable – Kane Williamson’s New Zealand will play Pakistan in 3-match ODI and T20Is in UAE.
Players who could miss: Kane Williamson, Adam Milne, Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Kyle Jamieson
Australia: Partially available – Australia will host Sri Lanka for 3-match ODI and T20I series in October before the ICC T20 World Cup.
Players who could miss: Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins, David Warner, Jhye Richardson, Marcus Stoinis, Steve Smith, Riley Meredith, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Dan Christian, Chris Lynn, Andrew Tye, Ben Cutting, Jason Behrendorff, Moises Henriques, Adam Zampa
South Africa: Almost Available – The Proteas will host the Netherlands in September with some players leaving for the CPL 2021.
Players who could miss: Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Anrich Nortje, Chris Morris, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen
Bangladesh: Unavailable – With England visiting them during the window, it is unlikely that the two Bangladeshi players will be available.
Players who could miss: Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman
West Indies: Partially Available – West Indies players will be busy playing in the CPL 2021 till September 19, meaning they will need further quarantining in the UAE, ruling them out for over 10 days.
Players in IPL 2021: Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Shimron Hetmyer, Sunil Narine, Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Jason Holder
Afghanistan: Unavailable – Afghanistan will play Pakistan in a 3-match ODI series in the UAE.
Editors pick
