IPL 2021: Australia & West Indies Have Window Open In September For Remainder of IPL

The Covid-19 pandemic forced the BCCI to suspend the Indian Premier League mid-way in the 2021 season with a number of players and support staff testing positive for the virus. There has been no certainty on the venue or the dates for the completion of the league though the month of September just before the World T20 has emerged as a possible period. However, some big nations like England have expressed reservation citing the availability of their players for national duty during that time-frame. It waits to be seen whether the cricket boards of other nations follow suit or adjust their international assignments in order to free their players for the coveted league. Australia and West Indies are two major nations who have the September window free.

Rahul Chahar Is Fast Replacing Yuzvendra Chahal As India’s First-Choice Leg Spinner

England are scheduled to tour Bangladesh and Pakistan for limited-overs matches in September and their director of cricket, Ashley Giles has already made it clear that national duty will be given more importance than playing in the IPL. This will be massive blow to a number of franchises (especially the Rajasthan Royals) as a total of 14 English players were part of IPL 2021. The list includes the likes of Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Chris Woakes, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan and Jason Roy.

“If those tours go ahead, I’d expect the players to be there. We’re planning on the involvement of England players in England matches,” stated Giles.

Two Bangladesh players – Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman played in the 2021 edition of the IPL.

With England making their stance clear it remains to be seen what the other cricket-playing nations decide. Their call will be based on whether they have international assignments lined up for September.

New Zealand are scheduled to travel to the UAE for a three-match ODI and three-match T20I series against Pakistan in September. This would means a big loss to franchises like the Sunrisers Hyderabad who will miss their skipper Kane Williamson should the remainder of the IPL be slotted in September. The other big New Zealand stars to play this season of the IPL were Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson, Lockie Ferguson, Jimmy Neesham and Mitchell Santner.

The South African team will be in India for a three-match ODI series and as many T20I matches in September. However, the BCCI will be expected to tighten the schedule of this bilateral series in order to fit in the IPL. Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, Chris Morris, David Miller, Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada are some of the South African stars in the IPL.

Rashid Khan’s unavailability will be a massive blow for the Sunrisers should the IPL be completed in September. Afghanistan is scheduled to take on Pakistan in a three-match ODI series in the UAE during the period.

Born for Cricket – Abhimanyu Easwaran’s Journey From Dehradun to England Via Bengal

Australia and West Indies are the only two countries who have the September window open and do not have any international commitments at the time. But Australia is scheduled to host Sri Lanka for a three-match T20I series prior to the World T20 in October and as such their players could miss the final stages of the IPL if the league is slotted between mid-September to mid-October. As many as 17 Australian players took part in IPL 2021. The exhaustive list includes Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, David Warner, Riley Meredith, Marcus Stoinis, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Dan Christian, Kane Richardson, Moises Henriques, Chris Lynn, Steve Smith, Adam Zampa, Andrew Tye, Ben Cutting, Daniel Sams, Jason Behrendorff

The only good news for the BCCI seems to be the complete availability of the West Indian players in a re-scheduled September-October window. Big superstars including the likes of Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine and Shimron Hetmeyer took part in this season of the IPL from the Caribbean.

Get all the IPL news and Cricket Score here

• bcci
• cricket australia
• Cricket South Africa
• ecb
• england and wales cricket board
• ipl
• IPL 2021
• west indies cricket board