A day after postponing their planned tour of South Africa due to COVID-19 pandemic, Cricket Australia (CA) stated that it will grant No Objection Certificates to its Indian Premier League-bound players on a "case-by-case" basis.

Unlike the last edition which saw IPL 2020 being shifted to UAE owing to the pandemic, the 14th edition of the cash-rich league will be held in India from the second week of April.

See ALso: Tentative dates for IPL 2021 revealed, as per reports

While the IPL-bound Australian cricketers are sweating over their participation, players' agents have reportedly said that unless there are injury concerns, there should not be any issue in granting NOCs as the tournament will be staged during CA's official break.

"We have, obviously, got precedent on that from the IPL last year. We have got, obviously, the IPL, if you like, (has) proven its bio-security protocols," CA interim CEO Nick Hockley was quoted as saying by 'Sydney Morning Herald'.

"As and when applications are made, we will consider each of those case-by-case, on their merits," he added.

A total of 19 Australian players featured in the IPL 2020, which was held in a bio-secure environment in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

However, 9 Australian cricketers, including white-ball skipper Aaron Finch, star batsman Smith and swashbuckling Glenn Maxwell, have been released by their respective franchises ahead of the IPL 2021 auction, slated to be held in Chennai on February 18.

While the itinerary for IPL 2021 hasn’t been released yet, it has been learnt that the BCCI wants to start the tournament from the second week of April.

(With PTI inputs)