Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 was initially suspended after the Covid-19 spread in the camp. There was a Covid-19 spread across various franchises which eventually led to the suspension of the tournament. However now the second half of the marquee tournament is all set to begin on September 19 in UAE. Meanwhile with the tight international schedule during the second phase of IPL, there was a question mark over the availability of foreign players. Especially England players were all set to miss the tournament. However, BCCI has now solved the issue after talking with all the cricket boards. Now even English players will be available in the second half of the Indian Premier League 2021(IPL).
Team England was all set to tour Bangladesh for a white ball series in September-October. However, now the series has been postponed until March 2023. This has led to England player’s availability in the remaining 31 IPL games.
Moreover, Previously ECB’s Director of Cricket, Ashley Giles had cleared that England cricketers won’t be participating in the second phase of IPL as they will be busy with the international schedule. Reacting to the news of England players participating in IPL, Kevin Pietersen came up with a cheeky tweet directed towards the England cricket board. Also with the tweet, he reminded the fans of what he tweeted about the matter back in May.
“Can anyone find my tweet from a few months ago when ECB said none of their players will play the IPL and will have to prioritise International cricket. I think I said, watch this space or something,” Pietersen tweeted.
https://twitter.com/KP24/status/1422463400118992899?s=19
If they stand together, they’ll play IPL!” : Kevin Pietersen’s tweet from May 2021
Kevin Pietersen posted a tweet back in May 2021 after the news surfaced that England players won’t be allowed in the IPL. Also, he recalled the incident when he was fighting alone to participate in IPL and ECB was against the cricketers.
https://twitter.com/KP24/status/1392395680853991427?s=20
“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 had tweeted.
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