Australia players likely to miss remainder of IPL 2021 in September-October window
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is looking for possible options to hold the reminder of Indian Premier League (IPL) in the UAE in the September and October window. The 14th edition of IPL came to a grinding halt on May 04 as cases within the bio-bubble surged, which made the BCCI postpone it. Apparently, BCCI’s interim CEO Hemang Amin had come up with two plans to hold the remaining 31 matches either at England or the UAE. Amin, though, stated in the plan that he is keener to resume the IPL in the UAE considering its massive success last year which made the stakeholders happy.
The BCCI is most likely to make an official announcement after their Special General Meeting (SGM) on May 29. The IPL is likely to restart around the third week of September after India’s tour to England that concludes on September 14, as reported in the Times of India.
The BCCI is also likely to conclude the high-profile tournament in early October as the scheduled ICC T20 World Cup is set to begin in the same month. This resumption of IPL in September-October is not good news for the Australian players as they have a packed schedule ahead of the T20 World Cup.
First up, the Men in Yellow are set to travel to the Caribbean islands to take on West Indies in five-match T20I series, with few of their players already not traveling due to bio-bubble fatigue and various other personal reasons. Pat Cummins, David Warner and Daniel Sams are the ones missing from the 23-members squad.
Australian players in doubt for the rest of the IPL 2021 due to busy schedule
The IPL-bound Australia players had to undergo a lot after the IPL was suspended as their government had closed the borders. The players, supporting staff and broadcasters of close to 40 people had arrived in Sydney on a charter flight arranged by the Indian authorities after quarantining themselves for a week in Maldives.
Australia are also set to tour Bangladesh as chairman of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Akram Khan confirmed. The two teams will play five T20Is in August. With such a packed schedule, it seems less likely that the Australian players will participate in the remainder of IPL 2021.
