It was to have been yet another edition of the mega franchise-based cricket league, especially in a format the country loves and cannot imagine the current firmament of the sport without. But then, in line with the surge of COVID cases in a country deeply hurt by the trouble, it got cancelled or suspended, howsoever one may put it. Though, one thing can be said for certain that the premature or sudden suspension of the IPL 2021 brought torrid sadness to countless fans. But then again, it was the right thing to do and the right step to go ahead with- don’t you think?
And while as on date, one just doesn’t know as to when might the rest of the IPL be rescheduled or if, it would take place in the country of it origin (India), what’s known is that there’s a high chance that players from New Zealand might not take further part in the world’s famous T20 league.
You read that right. Although, there’s no official word on it as yet. That being said, just the other day, there was major news that none of the English players would take any further part in the restart of the IPL and today, comes news that the New Zealand players are likely to stay off from the said series too.
As a matter of fact, England’s fortunes were deeply hurt in the series during its active days, April 2021, or rather one should say the fortunes of the English players representing the Rajasthan Royals.
Not only did Ben Stokes suffer from a finger injury that saw him retire from the edition’s 2021 run, there was no participation from Jofra Archer, which seriously hurt the fortunes of a vastly-competitive IPL unit.
Furthermore, the lacklustre form of the otherwise dangerous Eoin Morgan, England’s white-ball captain, hurt the chances of the incredibly famous Kolkata Knight Riders.
But where it came to the presence of the New Zealand players, it couldn’t be said that this edition of the IPL was replete with Kiwi performers. There was no Martin Guptill or Tim Southee. Furthermore, there were no takers for Devon Conway either.
Surely, the likes of Trent Boult of Mumbai Indians and Kyle Jamieson of the Royal Challengers Bangalore seemed in hot form for the two glowing outfits. But it was rather sad to not see Kane Williamson throughout the tournament, until it lasted as the Kiwi leader appeared in the final game they played versus Rajasthan in Delhi. That too was at the behest of David Warner being sidelined from the playing eleven as also its leadership.
Even Jimmy Neesham of Mumbai Indians was seen in a solitary IPL encounter this time around!
That being said, here is what a prominent cricket publication had to report regarding the further participation of New Zealand players:
“A day after England Cricket Director Ashley Giles confirmed that England players will not be allowed to miss the international or county fixtures in order to take part in the IPL, the same could be the case with New Zealand players.”
Furthermore, should the IPL be held around the September-October window, the reason for New Zealand’s possible non-participation is being put to the fact that they are to participate in a bi-lateral series against Pakistan.
Their cricket board would like the players to represent national duties over that of the IPL. Fair call?