The fear regarding the absence of foreign stars in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 remainder has started to come true as ace Australia pacer Pat Cummins of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is set to miss the tournament, slated to be held in the UAE.
As per reports, Cummins has told his KKR teammate Dinesh Karthik that he won’t be available for the remainder of the cash-rich league, which is likely to begin the mid of September.
“Pat Cummins has himself said that he will not come. But when it comes to Eoin Morgan, there are still three months to go. A lot can change from now till September. But if I am asked to lead, I will be ready for it,” Karthik was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
Although Cricket Australia (CA) has not said anything in this regard officially, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has already clarified that its players won’t be allowed to participate in IPL 2021 remainder by skipping international duties.
“We are going to have to give some of these guys a break at some point. But the intention of giving guys a break for, say, Bangladesh, wouldn’t be for them to go and play cricket elsewhere. We have to manage our schedule now, so we get our guys arriving in the best shape possible for the T20 World Cup and the Ashes,” ECB director of cricket Ashley Giles had said.