IPL 2021: Kevin Pietersen calls for ‘trading inside bubbles’ to help cover injuries

Kevin Pietersen, the former England cricketer, has called for ‘trading inside team bubbles’ to help teams like Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team, led by Sanju Samson, is currently languishing at the bottom of the points table with a net run rate of -1.011. On Thursday, the Royals lost to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 10 wickets.

Virat Kohli’s RCB chased the target of 178 with as many as 21 balls to spare. Devdutt Padikkal and the Challengers’ skipper stitched together an unbeaten partnership of 181 runs off a mere 99 balls. Even before the tournament began, RR started facing troubles. England cricketer Jofra Archer, their premier pacer, isn’t a part of the league after he sustained a hand injury.

Archer was the MVP in the 2020 IPL. Ben Stokes developed a finger injury and has been ruled out of the T20 league. In another telling blow, Liam Livingstone also pulled out of the tournament, citing, ‘bubble fatigue’. Bearing in mind that the Royals’ lost quite a few of their players, Pietersen reckoned that ‘trading’ can help the team recover to some extent.

Kevin Pietersen opines

He took to Twitter and wrote, “Do you think trading inside team bubbles should be allowed this @IPL season? A team like RR desperately need overseas players.”