Top New Zealand players will be available to take part when the Indian Premier League2021 resumes in the Middle East in September-October, a franchise official told Cricket.com.
In a busy calendar year that sees Kiwis take on Pakistan in a limited-overs series around September, there were speculations that they might give the IPL 2021’s UAE leg a miss and head straight into the T20 World Cup.
However, it is reported now that they are very much available for the rest of the league. Kane Williamson, the NZ skipper whom Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) awarded full-time captaincy in early May, is one of the first-choice Black Caps players involved in the IPL.
The list also features Kyle Jamieson, Tim Seifert, Trent Boult, Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner and Finn Allen.
“We are much relieved now. BCCI are in talks with English and Australian boards to come to a consensus regarding this. Given April and May are earmarked for the IPL, they are right to raise their own objections but we are now confirmed to witness New Zealand players in action.”
a franchise official was quoted as saying by Cricket.com.
While the Kiwis are set to take part, the availability (or the lack of it) of England and Australian cricketers – two countries from where IPL gets most of its overseas contingent – is a major bone of contention for the BCCI.
Earlier, England have confirmed that they expect their players to be engaged in international commitments at the time of IPL 2021. They’ve also stated they won’t make any other adjustments in their calendar for IPL-bound cricketers, having rested and rotated them through the winter tours earlier in the year.
The Australian stance on the matter is not yet completely clear, although their limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch recently said the likes of Pat Cummins, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith (injured) will find it hard to justify withdrawing from upcoming white-ball tours to West Indies and Bangladesh if it is being done to be fresh for the IPL 2021 in UAE. Cummins, who signed a whopping 15.5 crore deal with Kolkata Knight Riders, is reportedly unlikely to take part in the remainder of the tournament.
