IPL 2021 | Non availability of foreigners an opportunity for Gill and Rana: McCullum

The non-availability of Pat Cummins and Eoin Morgan is an opportunity for Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana to show their leadership skills feels Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum.

Speaking to Sports Today on their YouTube channel, McCullum said that it would be tough on KKR if they miss out on the services of cool customers like Cummins and Morgan but at the same time this would be a good oppurtunity for the rest of the contingent to step up to the mantle.

“They might not be ready for the responsibility just yet, but if we don't have the leaders there, then unfortunately someone’s got to step in and fill that void.”

Taking the names of Gill and Rana, he said that those players will have to drag the rest of the team along and hope that they can make it to the playoffs.

“They maybe have to play beyond their years and beyond their experience”

McCullum agrees with people to a certain degree when they say that KKR have underperformed despite having quality players in their line-up during the first part of the Indian Premier League. However, the head coach felt that the team was breaking the shackles and shaving their insecurities just as the tournament came to a halt.

Bringing up the context of their outing in 2014, McCullum said that he was looking forward to being at the pointy head of the market. He stated that just like 2014, the unit could potentially have done the unthinkable by winning the required number of games to qualify for the playoffs and then winning the ultimate prize.

As things stand, KKR reel in the bottom half of the points table with just four points to their name from seven games. With IPL potentially restarting around 19 September, it is possible that KKR might miss out on key overseas players like captain Eoin Morgan and their most expensive recruit Pat Cummins.

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CA remains non-committal on Aussie players’ availability for IPL’s UAE leg

The Australian players might not be available for the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League if Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley’s statements are anything to go by. Hockley, who was handed the full-time responsibility of the CEO earlier today, hinted that the players might not be willing to travel to UAE for the reaming part of the league. "Our players from the IPL only today came out of quarantine, so our first priority is to make sure they are reunited with their families and that they're safe and well," said Hockley in a media conference after assuming his office. “We've been texting, and I've spoken to a couple of the broader group, not just the players but there's commentators, match officials and physios. They are clearly quite shaken from the experience, very appreciative to be home back here in Australia,” he added. The Australian players and other members associated with the IPL 2021 in India, which has now been rescheduled for September 19-October 10 window in the UAE, got out of the hotel quarantine on May 31 only. Hockley is also more concerned about the team playing together and his next focus is the Kangaroos’ tour to the Caribbean. "We've obviously got a tour to prepare for in the West Indies but once they're out of quarantine and we get back together as a group, that (IPL participation) is something we'll need to discuss,’ said Hockley. Australia’s limited-overs tour to West Indies only begins on July 10 with the five T20Is in St. Lucia before they move to Barbados for the three ODIs. The team is likely to regroup around June 15 in Brisbane for practice before they head off to Wet Indies. "It's a couple of weeks before the West Indies touring party regroups at the National Cricket Centre [in Brisbane] and I think that's a time to re-focus," said Hockley. The CA also thanked the Australian government for its exemptions granted to those who have to leave Australia for work purposes. This way the Australian team will be eligible for the vaccine soon. “So now, once the players are out of quarantine, we will be working to offer them vaccinations before heading off to the West Indies,” said Hockley.

IPL 2021 | BCCI to take call on foreign player's availability in July

As Board of Control for Cricket in India members led by vice-president Rajeev Shukla chalk out plans for hosting the Indian Premier League in the United Arab Emirates, concerns are looming over the availability of the foreign players in the September-October window. With several nations playing their fixtures in preparation for the World T20 scheduled to be hosted later in October, boards such as the ECB have said head-on that they are not interested in sending their national stars for the remainder of the 14th edition of the cash-rich league. Sources in the know have told news agency ANI that the BCCI will take the decision about the foreign players around July after discussions with the foreign boards. Subsequently, the franchises will be intimated if the overseas players will be available to the respective teams or will they need to call in reinforcements during the second leg of the league. “Once the foreign boards come back on the matter of player availability, the BCCI will discuss the matter with the franchises and make them aware of the scenario. In case some foreign players aren't available for the tournament, the franchise will be allowed to rope in replacement in the same manner in which injury replacements are picked under normal circumstances,” the source told ANI. Earlier on Monday, 31 May, Rajeev Shukla had said that BCCI's primary goal was to complete the remainder of the IPL season. "Our main focus is on completing this edition of the IPL. It should not be left halfway through. So whichever foreign players are available is fine. Whoever is not available, it is not going to stop us from hosting the tournament,” Shukla said. Meanwhile, sources from the UAE board have stated that having crowds in the hosting stadiums would not be a problem and vaccinated persons will be allowed into the stadiums in 50 per cent capacity. It has also been intimated that the UAE board are more than eager to host the Indian Premier League in the three stadiums of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai, just like it did last year.

Watch: Emotional Pat Cummins hugs pregnant wife on reuniting after coming out of quarantine

Australian Test vice-captain Pat Cummins was visibly emotional when he reunited with his pregnant wife Becky Cummins outside his Sydney hotel where he was quarantining after getting back from India post the suspension of the Indian Premier League’s 2021 edition. The video was widely shared and liked on Twitter as it captured the true emotions of the player and his partner. Reportedly, Cummins has decided to sit out of the rescheduled IPL in UAE, to spend time with family during the pregnancy of his wife. Cummins, 28 is one of the costliest players in the league and was a key member of the struggling Kolkata Knight Riders. He almost played a blinder with the bat in a game against Chennai Super Kings where he threatened to take the game away from the yellow brigade with his 34 balls 66. The New South Wales player also took nine wickets in seven games in the IPL. Post the suspension of the IPL, Australian players had spent a lot of time in the Maldives before they fulfilled the criteria to get back to the country as there are travel restrictions on travelling from India to Australia. The players further underwent hotel quarantine before they could reunite with their families.

PSL 6 to resume from June 9: Reports

The sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League won’t be starting on the earlier proposed date of June 5 after being initially postponed from June 1 and shifted from Karachi to Shiekh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The delay caused by various travel restrictions for crew and players from India and South Africa means that the tournament can only start from June 9 at the least. “South Africans Faf Du Plessis, Riley Roussow, Cameron Delport and David Miller along with Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz were among the players whose flights landed at various airports on Saturday [May 29]. Also arriving in Abu Dhabi were South African coaches, Herschelle Gibbs and Michael Smith,” The Dawn reported. All these personnel along with the remaining contingent from Pakistan were supposed to reach Abu Dhabi by May 26 and hence with the maximum of 10-day quarantine, the PSL was slated to restart on June 5 for the reaming 20 matches of the league to be completed. But with both countries on the UAE’s red-list due to COVID-19, getting visas on time became a big hurdle. More Indians and South Africans arrived in the UAE by Sunday [May 30] and since they have to complete a 10-day quarantine period, the resumption of the season will not be possible by June 5,” the report said. The PSL which started on February 20 was supposed to take place entirely in Pakistan for this edition. However, with an increase in bio-bubble breaches and subsequent COVID-19 cases in the tournament bubble, on March 4 the event was postponed.