New Delhi: With the BCCI looking to restart the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League in UAE in the September-October window, questions have been asked on whether foreign players like Australia and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Pat Cummins would be available for the completion of the league in UAE.
Sources close to the player have confirmed a final decision is yet to be taken on the player’s availability as he has just come out of quarantine after arriving in Australia on May 17.
“We do not know yet. Pat is just out of quarantine and we are catching up with him to talk about the weeks and months ahead. No decision as yet regarding his participation in the IPL,” a source close to the player told ANI.
Cummins got out of his mandatory quarantine on Monday and he has finally linked up with his family. The IPL was suspended on May 4, and then the pacer along with the Australian contingent headed to the Maldives, and spent a further 14 days in quarantine in Sydney.
Earlier, according to a report in Sydney Morning Herald, Cummins had already made it clear that he would not be taking part in the remaining matches of the IPL, however, there was no reason given behind his decision.
“David Warner and Pat Cummins could be rested from the West Indies tour because of family reasons — others could follow after a draining year in several bubbles — and Cummins, despite a multimillion-dollar IPL contract, has already said he will not return to the T20 tournament this season,” stated the report.
Meanwhile, Ashley Giles, the managing director of the England men’s team, had said that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is not planning to change their schedule for the completion of the IPL.
“We are going to have to give some of these guys a break at some point.
But the intention of giving guys a break for, say, Bangladesh, wouldn’t be for them to go and play cricket elsewhere,” ESPNcricinfo had quoted Giles as saying.
“We have to manage our schedule now, so we get our guys arriving in the best shape possible for the T20 World Cup and the Ashes,” he added.
The BCCI on Saturday announced it will complete the remaining matches of the IPL in UAE. In an official release, the board said that the decision to move the tournament to UAE has been taken considering the monsoon season in India in the months of September-October.
The decision was taken at a Special General Meeting (SGM) held virtually on Saturday, where members unanimously agreed to resume IPL.