England’s tour of Bangladesh that had been scheduled for September-October, has been pushed back indefinitely. This will help England players be available for the UAE leg of IPL 2021.
England’s limited overs tour of Bangladesh originally planned for September-October, where they were slated to play three T20Is and as many ODIs, has now been postponed indefinitely. With this development, England players will now be free to participate in the second leg of the Indian Premier League 2021 in the UAE.
According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, the white-ball series between the two sides is all set to be postponed and the official announcement will be made soon. The insiders from English cricket have hinted that the postponement was a decision of the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
The BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury informed the media that the board is looking to reschedule the series to provide Bangladesh players some much-needed rest before the T20 World Cup. He also assured that the ODI series will be conducted before the cut-off date.
“We are in discussion with the England Cricket Board as we are having a lot of international fixtures, the board is thinking of giving some rest to our cricketers. We will host (the series) before the cut off time of ICC Super League,”
Chowdhury stated.
The three-match ODI series is a part of the ICC CWC Super League while the T20I series would’ve served as preparation for the T20 World Cup in October. The ECB, in their media release, announced that the series will now take place in the early weeks of March 2023.
Earlier, England and Wales Cricket Board managing director Ashley Giles had suggested that the English players won’t be allowed to play in the second phase of the IPL 2021. However, the postponement of the Bangladesh tour and efforts from the BCCI to reach an agreement with the ECB have resulted in a green signal for English players.
“The English players will be available for the resumption of the IPL in the UAE. The BCCI has the green signal. This shows the brilliant working relationship that the secretary has with not just the ECB, but also the BCB,”
a BCCI official quoted to ANI.
The 2021 edition of the IPL is set to resume in the UAE from September 19 with a fixture between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. The tournament will conclude on October 15, a week before the start of the main leg of the T20 WC.
