While the recent reports suggested Australian pacer Pat Cummins skipping the second leg of Indian Premier League (IPL 2021), it is now being learnt that Cummins joining the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is still undecided.

“Nothing has been discussed with Pat as yet, so nothing to report at this stage,” a person close to Cummins told Sportstar.

The tournament that was scheduled to be hosted in India this year, was suspended by the BCCI and IPL governing council owing to players and members of support staff testing positive for COVID-19 inside their teams’ bio-bubble.

As the BCCI was expected to suffer a loss of INR 2000 crores by cancelling the remainder of the IPL, but after having a special general meeting on Saturday, the board has come up with a new window in September-October.

Rajeev Shukla hints at IPL 2021 resumption from Sept 19; UAE backup venue for T20 World Cup

The remaining 31 games of the cash-rich league will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in this new window. After IPL 2020 in the UAE, as it is a tried and tested venue for hosting the IPL amid this pandemic, BCCI decided to shift the tournament there.

While talking to Cricket Australia’s newly appointed CEO Nick Hockley about the Aussie player rejoining their IPL franchise, he said, “We haven't talked anything about it yet. The players returning from IPL have only today come out of quarantine.”

“So, our priority is to ensure they are safe and well. We have got a West Indies tour to prepare for. Once we get back together as a group, that's something that we will need to discuss. I would reiterate that the BCCI has been absolutely fantastic in supporting the entire group in terms of getting home safely,” Hockley added.

(With Sportstar Inputs)