England head coach Chris Silverwood on Sunday confirmed that IPL-bound England players will be available for the entire tournament, which means those involved in the final stages are most likely to miss the opening Test against New Zealand. The IPL is slated to begin from April 9 with the final scheduled to be played on May 30, while the opening Test against New Zealand begins on June 2.

The IPL 2021 schedule was confirmed by the BCCI on Sunday with the play-offs taking place on May 25, 26, and 28 and the final set for May 30, all at the Narendra Modi Cricket stadium in Ahmedabad. Meanwhile, the England-New Zealand Test series starts two days after the IPL final.

IPL Bound England Players To Stay Back – Chris Silverwood

Meanwhile speaking to Cricbuzz, Chris Silverwood confirmed the availability of the England players for the entire season even if it means missing the initial phase of the Test series. The decision makes sense with the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled to take place in India later this year. Playing in IPL will give the players more exposure to these conditions which will come in handy during the global event.

“We haven’t looked at selection or anything like that for the Tests yet, but, for me, playing for your country is a big thing. It’s difficult to change anything so they’ll be staying for the whole IPL as it stands, yes. Listen, we’ll be looking at the Test series and working our way back to see what sort of preparation we need and we haven’t done that at this time. It’s something we will be doing,” Chris Silverwood said. 

Meanwhile, for the Test series starting from May 30, ECB would require their players to have at least a three-day training period. But players would also need to be at home for at least a couple of days before that to recover from the journey back from India. This means that England would only consider players who are back by May 28.

That would rule out any player involved in the second IPL qualifier on May 28 and the final two days later. Meanwhile, if none of the England players are required to stay back, England can have a full-strength squad for the series against New Zealand.

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