England and Wales Cricket Board managing director, Ashley Giles, recently said England's centrally-contracted players, including captain Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes, and Jos Buttler may miss out on the second phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) due to clashes with the international schedule.
However, former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen believes that the English players can take part in the remainder of IPL 2021 if they stand together. IPL 14 was postponed after the IPL Governing Council (GC) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took an urgent call due to a bio-bubble breach in multiple franchises.
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"It's going to be v interesting to watch how the ECB handle this issue around not allowing its best players to play IPL if it's rescheduled. When I went up against ENG, I was alone. This time, it's all their best-branded players! If they stand together, they'll play IPL," Pietersen tweeted.
Giles had said England's Future Tours Programme (FTP) may not allow the players to participate in the rest of the IPL 2021. He expects his players to be with the team instead of going for the IPL if the tournament is rescheduled and clashes with their FTP.
"We've got a full FTP schedule. So if those tours to Pakistan and Bangladesh [in September and October] are going ahead, I'd expect the players to be there," he said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
"The New Zealand scenario was very different. Those Test matches were formalized at the end of January, by which time all those contracts and NOCs [no objection certificates] were signed for full involvement in the IPL," he further said.
Giles made it clear that they want to look after their players with a busy summer coming up. "None of us knows what a rearranged IPL looks like at the moment; where it's going to be or when. But from when we start this summer against New Zealand, our programme is incredibly busy," said Giles.
"We've got a lot of important, high-profile cricket including the T20 World Cup and the Ashes. And we're going to have to look after our players," he added.
(With ANI Inputs)
