IPL 2021 In UAE: KKR Speedster Pat Cummins Pulls Out Of 'IPL Phase 2'

IPL 2021 in UAE: In a massive breaking news, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) speedster Pat Cummins has decided to miss the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season set to resume in the UAE during the September-October window. Despite holding a massive IPL contract worth INR 15.5 crores, the Aussie fast bowler will skip IPL Phase 2 due to a busy international cricket calendar. Recently, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that the remaining 31 matches of the IPL 2021 season will take place in the UAE.

KKR’s Pat Cummins pulls out of IPL Phase 2

Australia have a pretty bust international calendar this year with tours to West Indies and Bangladesh lined before the ICC T20 World Cup and the Ashes. The Australian national cricket team will play 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs against West Indies in July and then the Men in Yellow will take a flight to Bangladesh for a five-match T20I series in August. Therefore, a packed international calendar could be a major reason for Cummins pulling out of IPL Phase 2 in UAE. Also, if reports are to be believed, other Australian players are likely to withdraw their names citing bubble-fatigue and international cricket as the main focus.

“Cummins, despite a multimillion-dollar IPL contract, has already said he will not return to the T20 tournament this season,” a report in Australian newspaper Sydney Morning Herald said.

IPL 2021 in UAE

In order to organise the IPL 2021 Phase 2 in the UAE, the main hindrance for the BCCI is the availability of the overseas cricketers due to the busy international cricket calendar. Already, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Director of Cricket Ashley Giles has confirmed that the England national players will not be released to play in the second leg of the IPL as they are scheduled to play international cricket against Bangladesh and Pakistan during the September-October window. As per a report in Cricbuzz, the West Indies players are also set to miss the remaining 31 matches of IPL 2021 due to their participation in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2021 and the subsequent tri-series against Afghanistan and Australia just before the T20 World Cup.

“That’s what most of us are wary of, the availability of English and Aussie cricketers. If there are players who decide not to travel for whatever reasons, adequate replacements will have to be sought,” a source, tracking development in franchises, told Times of India.

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