IPL 2021 UAE leg will be played from September 19 to October 15 with all the teams resuming their campaign. 31 matches will be played over 27 days including the playoffs and the big final. 13 matches will be played in Dubai, 10 in Abu Dhabi and 8 in Sharjah. Almost all the teams have reached the UAE and started their preparations as well. Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians will play the first match of the second half to get the campaign started.
Meanwhile, in this article, we will take a look at the players who have pulled out of the second half of IPL 2021.
Players Who Have Pulled Out Of Second Half Of IPL 2021
Jos Buttler
Jos Buttler has pulled out of the second half of the season due to the birth of his second child. Buttler went onto say that he might also skip the Ashes series after IPL 2021 to give time to his family.
“One of the challenges is working out where the line is where you say I can’t do that. I’ve sacrificed a lot for cricket and my wife and family have sacrificed a lot,” Buttler told The Times newspaper.
He further said that due to the tough bubble life that the COVID regulations demand at the moment, he thought of skipping that too given that playing the IPL and the Ashes would force him to stay away from his family for four months.
Pat Cummins
Like Buttler, Pat Cummins will also skip the remaining IPL season due to family reasons. His wife is also expecting the birth of their first child and Cummins wants to be beside his wife during this time. The Australian pacer confirmed his unavailability for the UAE leg in a Youtube session. He took nine wickets from seven games in the first half of the season.
Azam Zampa
The leg spinner was due to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021. He did not play the first half and will skip the second half as well. Zampa has confirmed to the franchise that he will be unavailable for the remaining season after which Royal Challengers Bangalore signed Wanindu Hasaranga as his replacement.
Riley Meredith & Jhye Richardson
The Punjab Kings pacers have opted out of IPL 2021 just before the squad for the UAE leg was announced. The report was confirmed by Insidesport.
Both Richardson and Meredith were roped in by Punjab for a hefty amount of money. Richardson was roped in for 16 crores while Meredith costed the franchise 8 crores. As a replacement of them, the Punjab Kings (PBKS) franchise have roped in Nathan Elis. Meredith picked up 4 wickets in 5 games, Richardson scalped 3 wickets in 3 matches.
Also Read: IPL 2021: CSK CEO Confirms Josh Hazlewood’s Participation In The Remainder Of The Tournament