Australian players cleared to play in remainder of IPL 2021 ahead of T20 World Cup
Australian players cleared to play in remainder of IPL 2021 ahead of T20 World Cup
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Cricket Australia (CA) has issued No Objection Certificates to senior players, clearing their way to participate in the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, which will be played from 19 September to 15 October, reports cricket.com.au.
The 14th edition of IPL began in April this year but was suspended midway on 4 May due to the COVID-19 outbreak inside its bio-bubble. The rest of the matches will be played in the UAE which also hosted the IPL in 2020.
CA's decision to allow its player to take part in the IPL comes after the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) postponed the three-match ODI series between the two nations which was to be played in India ahead of the 2021 T20 World Cup which begins on 17 October.
It also means that top Australian players will be missing the start of their domestic competition for the second successive season to take part in the IPL. Australia's men's domestic competition is set to begin with a Marsh One-Day Cup game on 11 September.
While big names like Steve Smith, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell will be returning to the cash-rich T20 League, Pat Cummins is expected to miss the remainder of the league due to the impending birth of his first child.
Australia legend Ricky Ponting had recently said that IPL 2021 will be ideal preparation for Australian players ahead of the T20 World Cup.
"Those guys that haven't played for three or four months now, they need to get back into the groove of playing high-quality cricket against the best players in the world," Delhi Capitals coach Ponting said.
"No doubt it's their best preparation to be in those exact conditions, playing in probably the strongest domestic T20 tournament in the world."
Australian players with IPL contracts: Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, David Warner, Riley Meredith, Marcus Stoinis, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Dan Christian, Moises Henriques, Kane Richardson, Josh Hazlewood, Chris Lynn, Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Adam Zampa, Andrew Tye, Ben Cutting, Josh Philippe, Daniel Sams and Jason Behrendorff.
