Jonny Bairstow (SRH), Chris Woakes (DC) and Dawid Malan (PKBS) have joined Jos Buttler in the list of England cricketers to have opted out of the UAE leg of IPL 2021, starting September 19.
The pandemic has indirectly influenced the three players’ withdrawal, as they’ve looked to avoid excessive bubble fatigue ahead of what will be a long, busy winter for them with the England team.
All three players – and Rajasthan Royal’s Buttler – are part of England’s T20 World Cup squad and are likely to be included in the Ashes touring contingent to Australia later this year.
Consequently, these players face the prospect of spending more than four months away from home while having to endure strict healthy safety protocols, including quarantine, bubble stay and regular testing for the contagious virus.
With it not yet certain whether England players will be allowed to travel with their family members Down Under under more player-friendly circumstances, it is only expected that they would be wary of their schedule ahead.
Bairstow has been replaced by Sherfane Rutherford for the Sunrisers, while South Africa’s Aiden Markram has officially taken the place of Malan in the Punjab Kings camp. DC are yet to name a replacement for Woakes.
Before them, Buttler and Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, were also confirmed as absentees for the Royals from the UAE leg of IPL 2021.
Still, the remainder of IPL 2021 will not be short of English presence, as the likes of Eoin Morgan, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Liam Livingstone, Jason Roy, Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Sam Curran, Tom Curran and George Garton are all due to take part.
