England players to skip the rescheduled IPL 2021, says ECB

Ashley Giles, director of ECB, has stated that IPL contracted England players will not be a part of the tournament wherever it takes place. The English board has put its foot down because of the upcoming series against Pakistan and Bangladesh in October and November. Giles had previously agreed that the England cricketers who were involved in the latter stages of the IPL could miss the two Test series against New Zealand starting from June 2.

The New Zealand tour of England starts on May 25 with a practice match. It will then be followed by two Tests at the Lord's and Edgbaston. This Test series will be followed by the most awaited final of the WTC between New Zealand and India. The final clash of the World Test Championship is going to take place on June 18, 2021, at Southampton.

England to tour Pakistan and Bangladesh in October and November

IPL 2021 started in April but had to be suspended and postponed indefinitely on May 4. A total of 29 matches were completed, but due to Covid-19 positive cases in bio-bubbles of multiple franchises across Delhi and Ahmedabad, the league had to be called off. India has been plagued by the second wave of coronavirus infections, with daily cases rising past 4,00,000.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has emphasized that the tournament is only suspended and not canceled. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly also talked about the board's losses if the remainder of the IPL did not take place. The veteran also stressed that it's too early for the board to consider a new window. There could be a potential window before the T20 World Cup in October. However, the England cricket team is scheduled to tour Bangladesh and Pakistan in the said window. This series will be a part of the preparations for this year's T20 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Ashley Giles also mentioned that England players have returned from India and are serving a mandatory quarantine period. The players will not be rushed into international action, considering the workload management of their centrally-contracted players. Giles also pointed out that there might be new faces for the forthcoming 2-Test series against New Zealand. Following the postponement of the 14th IPL season, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Jonny Bairstow, and Moeen Ali are currently serving their 10-day isolation period in government-approved hotels.

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