The IPL 2021 has been discontinued midway through the season due to a rampant surge in the Covid cases in India. Importantly, few players and a few ground staff members were additionally detected positive with COVID-19. Consequently, reports claiming the possible start of IPL 2021 in September-October fill a lot of joy in the hearts of all the IPL fans.
Unfortunately, the ECB director Ashley Giles has confirmed that England players will not be allowed to feature during the rescheduled phase of IPL 2021 in UAE. Also, the England Cricket Board professed that the national team has a busy schedule before the T20 World Cup, and the management would not risk players and would allow them optimum rest.
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The news on England players missing the remainder of the IPL 2021 has cultivated new apprehensions for the few IPL franchises. England's players were the cornerstone for a few IPL teams and their dearth will be felt immensely. Some of the biggest English names involved in IPL 2021 were Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Jonny Bairstow, and Moen Ali.
Here's a look at 3 teams who might suffer heavily if England players miss the remainder of the IPL 2021 season in UAE:
1. Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
MS Dhoni's CSK will face major setbacks due to the unavailability of England's players. English all-rounders Moeen Ali and Sam Curran have become the two key overseas performers for the Yellow Army. Dhoni and team management will face an extreme hardship to fill the void left by the absence of English players. In 2021, Moeen Ali was the zenith for the CSK and performed tremendously well.
Moeen had an impressive performance by scoring 206 runs and grabbing five wickets in six appearances in the first phase of the IPL 2021. His compatriot, Sam Curran has been remarkably good for CSK in the last two years. His contribution to the team both with batting and bowling is commendable. Sam has earned his place in Dhoni’s good books, so it will be difficult to find any replacement. In the latest IPL, he picked nine wickets and scored 56 runs in the limited opportunities.
2. Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Rajasthan Royals (RR) is one of the few teams who are likely to suffer the most due to the absence of their English international players. The team boasts of the world’s best all-rounder Ben Stokes and a power-packed T20 performer in Jos Butler. Both players are the heart of the team and have contributed immensely to RR victories over the years. However, Ben Stokes has failed to make a worthy impression in the latest championship due to injury.
Nonetheless, his presence would have surely added immeasurable value to the team. On the other hand, Jos Butler, the most accomplished wicket-keeper batsman for England and RR. His contribution to the team is peerless and single-handedly leads the RR’s batting lineup from the front as an opener. It is very hard to imagine the Royals without Butler in the past few years. Hence, a tough road lies ahead for the RR without England duo Stokes and Butler.
3. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is led by England's Eoin Morgan in the IPL. Morgan's who recognized as one of the most fearsome batsmen in the middle-order, his unavailability in the second phase of the IPL 2021 could leave a void in KKR's struggling middle-order.
As a prominent leader and destructive batsman, KKR will have big shoes to fill in the absence of their captain for the remainder of the IPL 2021 starting in UAE. It will be a tough job in hand for the team management to find Morgan's replacement. His versatile ability to contribute to the team through captaincy and batting was paramount. Hopefully, KKR will find an alternative solution for him.
