Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen has responded to England Cricket Board’s decision of not allowing its cricketers to play the remaining half of IPL 2021 due to national commitments. The BCCI is planning to host the remainder of the season outside India in September. Meanwhile, Pietersen has taken a stand against the ECB’s decision saying that if the players stand together, they can convince the board to allow them to come back and play the IPL.
“It’s going to be v interesting to watch how the ECB handle this issue around not allowing it’s best players to play IPL, if it’s rescheduled. When I went up against ENG, I was alone. This time, it’s all their best branded players! If they stand together, they’ll play IPL,” Pietersen tweeted.
Kevin Pietersen Responds To ECB’s Decision on IPL 2021
https://twitter.com/KP24/status/1392395680853991427?s=20
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Meanwhile, England have a few international assignments lined up during the month of September and later. There was a chance that as many as four of England’s first-choice team would have been missing against New Zealand had they been allowed to play the IPL.
England have a tough year ahead as they travel to Bangladesh in September. They then travel to Pakistan in mid-October. They play the T20 World Cup then and then travel to Australia for Ashes that begins on December 9.
Two Kolkata Knight Riders players and one each from Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad tested positive for COVID-19 in successive days which forced the BCCI and IPL Governing Council to postpone the T20 tournament with immediate effect.
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has said that the remaining season cannot be played in India with the daily count of COVID cases rising. He has also said that that the board is not in any hurry to complete the season and that the player’s health and safety comes first.
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