The BCCI has set a deadline of August 20 for the eight teams to submit their final squads for the tournament. But, it is understood that none of the franchises have submitted the final squad list except Chennai super kings. A few of the franchises are waiting for the Australia and England players to give a nod for their participation in the remainder of the 2021 edition of the IPL. New Zeland cricket board has already cleared that their players will be available for the IPL.
Earlier, CA and ECB said that it’s up to their players whether they want to take part in the IPL or not. According to the reports, the franchises are waiting for the players to make their decision, and an official from an IPL franchise confirmed that they are in talks with their overseas players. Speaking to Inside Sport, the official said:
“We have to submit the squad by August 20 but I can’t confirm whether all foreign players will be available. We are still in talks with some players. The good thing is that the T20 World Cup will be held in UAE and that gives us confidence that all players will be available but we are still waiting on some players’ final confirmation.”
Australia and England players will be away from their homes for five months
Rajasthan Royals have lots of issues while deciding their squad as Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes’ participation in the league is still under the clouds. Jofra Archer is already out of the tournament due to injury. While for KKR Pat Cummins’s confirmation is yet to come. Australia and England’s players have a very hectic schedule in the upcoming months. After the IPL, they’ll play the T20 World Cup and then Ashes and followed by the long tour of West Indies in February. BCCI has set a deadline of August 20 for franchisees to announce their squads for the event.
“Yes, BCCI’s delay in responding officially did play a part in last-minute hassle. We kept hearing about players’ availability in the news but BCCI only confirmed that officially in August. That’s why the August 20 deadline is a little early for us. But if that’s the norm, we will adhere to that,” another franchise official said.
Currently, Chennai Super Kings is the only franchise that has its full squad in place. CSK will start its practice session today. The five-time champions Mumbai Indians is the other franchise that has reached the UAE to prepare for the second leg of the IPL. All the other franchises will leave in the last week of August or early September.