Cricket Australia (CA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have announced that they won’t object to their players playing in the IPL.
The IPL was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will resume on September 19, and will go on till October 15, when the final will be played. The news was confirmed after the BCCI, which is the Indian equivalent of CA and ECB, was informed by the latter two that their players will join the IPL when it resumes in the UAE.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Kasi Viswanathan from IPL outfit Chennai Super Kings said, “We have got a call from the IPL office and have been informed that the boards have no objection to their players’ participation.
“It is now up to the players. Our Australian and English players (Moeen Ali, Sam Curran and Jason Behrendorff) are available.”
Foreign fiesta
Punjab Kings’ CEO also affirmed the statement, saying, “We’ve been told of the clearance. Now the team manager will contact the players individually.” The players they will welcome back are Australians Moisis Henriques, Riley Meredith and Jhye Richardson, and English players Dawid Malan and Chris Jordan.
The other teams also have their share of English and Australian players, and they will all be back as well. David Warner will return for Sunrisers Hyderabad, as will Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy. Delhi Capitals will welcome Marcus Stoinis and Steve Smith. Altogether, there are 34 Australian and English players in the IPL (20 Australian, 14 English).
This series of events means more for the English cricketers. These players returning to the IPL will miss the two T20Is scheduled to be held in Pakistan, on October 13 and 14 in Rawalpindi. As such, the squad that goes to play will be without those key players, making Pakistan the favourites on paper.
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