Most of the Australian players, who had pulled out of the West Indies tour citing personal reasons, will be available for the remainder of the Indian Premier League 2021.
Australia captain Aaron Finch had previously remarked that it would be hard for the Aussies, who have withdrawn from the West Indies and Bangladesh tours, to justify their participation in the second phase of IPL. But it is now well understood that most of those players who opted out of their International duty will now be available to join their respective IPL franchises for the resumption of the tournament in UAE.
Out of nearly 20 players who came in to represent Australia in the first phase of IPL, only 9 have been picked for the WI and Bangladesh tours. As per a report on Cricbuzz, players like Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Marcus Stoinis, Kane Richardson and Daniel Sams, who pulled out from those tours, are expected to come back to the IPL.
Skipper Finch had also made it clear that the players who will play in the West Indies and Bangladesh tours will be preferred for the selection in Australia’s T20 World Cup squad to those who chose to opt-out. However, some Australian players believe that playing IPL in UAE will only help their preparations for the T20 World Cup, which is also scheduled to be held in UAE.
However, the BCCI has assured the franchises that most of the overseas players will be available for the UAE leg, but there has been no official communication with the English and Wales Cricket Board, who were quite determined not to let their players go. Bangladesh Cricket Board has also made Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman unavailable for the rest of the IPL.
The UAE leg is expected to begin by September 18-20 and will continue till October 10-15.
