The 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League is all set to start in the first week of April and conclude in May, and the teams are all prepped and ready, which some having their net sessions going underway. But, many franchises have players who might not be available towards the end of the tournament. Here’s a look at the names of 5 such players.
1. Jos Buttler (England)
One of the mainstays of the England cricket team and their primary wicketkeeper at the moment, Jos Buttler, who will be playing for the Rajasthan Royals in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League, may miss out on the later stages of the tournament.
Given the quarantine rules that have come into place, he might have to leave the tournament early when he is picked to play for the England cricket team, in their series against the New Zealanders, starting from the 2nd of June, which is not long after the conclusion of the IPL, joining the list of the players who might not be available towards the end of the tournament.
2. Ben Stokes (England)
The star all-rounder of the Rajasthan Royals, who plays for the same side as Jos Buttler in international cricket is one of the sure-shot inclusions in the England Cricket Team in their series against New Zealand, which as stated earlier, starts in the first week of June.
The Royals will have to release him if the England Cricket Board calls in and due to the quarantine rules that are in place, owing to the ongoing pandemic, Stokes will have to leave much before the tournament comes to a close and this could potentially cost the Royals dearly, given that their XI is pivoted around him.
3. Sam Curran (England)
Another Englishman in the list, Sam Curran in recent years had cemented his position in the England team and could very well be included in their team as they host cricket matches against the Kiwis. Curran is part of the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, and last season was one of their biggest saviours, with both the bat and the ball in hand. If it were not for his exploits which came at crucial times for his team, the Chennai Super Kings would have been in a much worse spot than what they ended up being at.
His inevitable exit early from the Indian Premier League would definitely be a matter of concern for the Chennai based franchise and their captain MS Dhoni will have to come up with something in order to fill in for him.
4. Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand)
Lockie Ferguson since the time that he has started playing for the New Zealand Cricket team, has become an integral part of their international setup and will surely be one of the players who would be boarding the flight to England in April, which would be around the same time that the later phase of the Indian Premier League would be taking place.
The Kolkata Knight Riders had retained Lockie Ferguson going into IPL 2021 and would have wanted to keep him with the side through the course of the tournament but, to their dismay, Ferguson would have to leave much earlier than they would have wanted him to, making it into the list of the players who might not be available towards the end of the tournament
5. Kyle Jamieson (New Zealand)
The second player from the New Zealand team, and one of the most expensive players of the IPL 2021 auction, Kyle Jamieson, the 6 feet 8 inches tall pacer, will in all probabilities have to take leave from the Indian Premier League, even before the last leg of the tournament goes underway. When Jamieson’s name had come up in the auction, the teams had engaged in a bidding war, which was eventually won by the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The player had expressed his excitement for playing alongside players like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, but as things are panning out at the highest level, his stay with the team and the time that he would spend with the team may be cut short.