IPL 2020: Top Australian, England players set to miss start of event

Tags: IPL 2020, England, Australia

Published on: Aug 15, 2020

Most of the big Australian and England players are likely to miss the start of the Indian Premier League 2020 in the UAE as Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) agreed to feature in a limited-overs series in England before the IPL.

While Australia's limited-overs captain Aaron Finch, Steve Smith and Pat Cummins, the costliest buy at the auction, are set to miss the start of the tournament, England's Eoin Morgan, Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes won't be available before September 26. IPL 2020 will kick-off on September 19 in the UAE.

England and Australia will face off in three T20Is at the Ageas Bowl on September 4, 6 and 8. The ODIs, on the other hand, will be played on September 11, 13 and 16 at the Old Trafford.

While it is practically possible for the players to reach the UAE on September 17 or 18, according to the IPL SOP, they will be quarantined for six days with RT-PCR tests on day 1,3 and 6. Come the seventh day, the players will be entering the bio-bubble if they test negative on all three days.

Nearly 30 players from England and Australia are part of the IPL. Mumbai Indians are lucky as their Australian players Chris Lynn and Nathan Coulter-Nile are not part of the limited-overs squad in England. Rajasthan Royals will be severely effected as Buttler, Smith and Archer are part of the franchise.

Sunrisers Hyderabad too will be without their captain David Warner for the first week. New Zealand's Kane Williamson is likely to step in as skipper in the interim.

In a joint statement by both the ECB and CA, it was confirmed that the England-Australia series will be held in a bio-secure environment behind closed doors. The ODI series will be a part of the ICC World Cup Super League.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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