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Four Players who pulled out of IPL 2021

The 14th season of the IPL is starting on 9th April as the defending champions – Mumbai Indians will take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. All the teams have created their own bio bubbles and they aren’t allowed to leave their hotels except for matches and practice. Due to the rise in Covid Cases in India, at least the first half of the IPL 2021 season will take place without any spectators.

Life is getting difficult for these cricketers as some of them have been in bio bubbles since the start of the last IPL. Even though they get to stay in five-star hotels it is not easy to remain alone in the room for a long period. The life in the bio bubbles has started to affect players and as a result, some of the star players have opted out of the tournament to avoid fatigue. So, let us have a look at the four players who have pulled of the latest IPL season.

4. Dale Steyn

Dale Steyn who has retired from Test cricket at the international level was one of the first cricketers to opt-out of the biggest T20 league in the world. At the start of 2021, Dale Steyn put out a tweet saying that he won’t be playing for any team in this year’s IPL as he is planning to take some time off from cricket.

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The South African fast bowler clarified that he hasn’t retired yet but he doesn’t want to be a part of the IPL for the upcoming season. He wasn’t part of the player Auction which took place in February but he was recently seen in the Pakistan Super League which was called off in between due to Covid cases among players.

3. Josh Phillipe

Josh Phillipe who was retained by the Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the upcoming season opted out of this year’s IPL due to personal reasons. The Australian wicket-keeper batsman had played five games for RCB in the last season but won’t be part of this IPL season.

RCB announced Finn Allen the explosive opener from New Zealand as his replacement. Allen recently made his T20I debut against Bangladesh and smashed 71 off 29 balls in the third T20I. Phillipe was the second cricketer after Dale Steyn to opt-out of the IPL.

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2. Mitchell Marsh

Mitchell Marsh who has been in and out of the Australian side was part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad for the upcoming season. Marsh who missed the whole season last year due to an injury in the first game has opted out of this year’s IPL due to bubble fatigue.

Marsh played the whole Big Bash Season which took place under bio bubbles and then was part of the Australian squad which travelled to New Zealand for the five-match T20I series. He wasn’t ready to live in a bubble without his family for another two months and that’s why he opted out of the tournament. Jason Roy, the England opener will replace him at SRH.

1. Josh Hazlewood

Josh Hazlewood became the latest Australian to opt-out of IPL 2021 due to bubble fatigue. The Australian pacer has been in bubbles even before the last IPL as the Australian team had gone to England for a limited-overs series.

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He was part of the Australian squad for the India series and then played some domestic games for New South Wales. He wanted to keep himself fresh for the upcoming T20 World Cup and Ashes and hence opted out of the IPL. CSK hasn’t named a replacement yet and reportedly CSK finding themselves tough for seeking a replacement for josh amidst the raising COVID cases.

Shubham K

I am currently studying Computer Engineering at SVNIT Surat. I am a big cricket fan and like writing about Cricket.

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