The bubble forming around the availability of the England players taking part in the remainder of the Indian T20 League in the UAE has burst.
England Cricket Board’s managing director Ashley Giles has said that the English players will not be released for the rescheduled edition of the league even if they are rested for the Bangladesh and Pakistan tours.
The Mumbai and Bangalore teams will remain unaffected by the decision as they have no England players in their squad but the rest of the six teams have 14 Englishmen in their midst. Rajasthan has the most with four -- although two were already sidelined due to injury -- while Kolkata has one, who probably won’t be missed based on his season’s numbers.
Here’s a look at the England players in Indian T20 League 2021 and how they performed in the tournament so far.
England players in Team Chennai
- Moeen Ali
- Sam Curran
Chennai will particularly miss the services of the English players. While Moeen Ali played the role of an all-rounder to perfection with an economy of 6.16 and a batting average of 34.33, Sam Curran was the leading wicket-taker for the team who put his hands up at crucial moments.
England players in Team Rajasthan
- Jofra Archer
- Jos Buttler
- Ben Stokes
- Liam Livingstone
Rajasthan’s bowling mainstay Jofra Archer was ruled out of the Indian T20 League 2021 due to a sustained finger injury on his right hand. He was also facing concerns for his right elbow for quite some time and is still not sure of recovering in time for the second half of the league. A freak injury was again responsible for the departure of all-rounder Ben Stokes who suffered a fracture on his left index fracture and had to fly back home after playing just a lone match. He is likely to be unavailable for the second edition too. While Jos Buttler was in good form in the 2021 edition of the league scoring 254 runs in seven matches, Liam Livingstone was yet to get a game.
England players in Team Punjab
- Dawid Malan
- Chris Jordan
Punjab opener Dawid Malan had to sit out the initial games before getting an Indian T20 League debut where he scored 26 runs. Chris Jordan played three matches and accounted for two wickets as well. Punjab are likely to miss his death-bowling experience in the remainder of the league.
England players in Team Hyderabad
- Jonny Bairstow
- Jason Roy
Hyderabad have hired the services of two of England’s deadly openers. While Jonny Bairstow was in a murderous form hammering 248 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 141.71, Jason Roy was yet to make his Hyderabad debut after replacing Mitchell Marsh.
England players in Team Delhi
- Chris Woakes
- Tom Curran
- Sam Billings
Delhi have a couple of handy all-rounders who could be missed going forward. Chris Woakes scalped five wickets in three matches while Tom Curran managed a solitary wicket in the two matches that he played. Sam Billings was yet to feature in an Indian T20 League match this year.
England players in Team Kolkata
- Eoin Morgan
Eoin Morgan was struggling as a batsman in the 2021 edition of the league. He could manage only 92 runs in seven matches. His captaincy hasn’t made an impact either as Kolkata are placed second-last in the points table.
Featured image : Twitter / Jos Buttler
