Sri Lanka confirms Bangladesh tour, team to play three ODIs on the sojourn

IPL 2021: Eight of 11 England players reach home, to undergo 10-day institutional quarantine

A group of eight English players barring Dawid Malan, white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan and Chris Jordan have reached back to England on a chartered flight from India. These players would now undergo a mandatory 10-day quarantine in a government-approved hotel at Heathrow Airport. The mandatory quarantine is due to India’s presence on the “red list” in United Kingdom’s travel guidelines. It is believed that the remaining three English players will be boarding a flight back home in the next 48 hours. However, it is not clear how the other members from England, who were part of the IPL 2021, including KKR’s James Foster and Nathan Leamon, Rajasthan Royals CEO Mike Fordham and commentator Nick Knight, would get back home. The biggest contingent at the now postponed IPL was of the Australian players, which was 38 men strong. They are now being sent through Sri Lanka and Maldives’ route, where they will spend the necessary amount of time to qualify for a flight home. All travel from India to Australia is banned till May 15. The IPL Governing Council Chairman Brijesh Patel and acting CEO Heman Amin have confirmed that all the foreign players would be sent back to their countries in a safe passage.

BCCI 'committed' to arrange safe ways for Australians to go back home: Cricket Australia chief

Staying true to the promises made on making sure all players will reach their homes safely, the BCCI is making moves to send all of the Australian players and support staffs involved in the IPL 2021 to either Sri Lanka or the Maldives before they can be eligible for getting entry into Australia for which a chartered flight will be arranged later. There were reports that players and former players who wished to return to their homes in Australia will be staying in quarantine in the Maldives to make themselves eligible for entry into their own country. Now, Cricket Australia's interim chief executive Nick Hockley has confirmed that the BCCI is ‘committed’ to ensure all the players and support staffs reach their respective homes. "What the BCCI is working to do is to move the entire cohort out of India where they will wait until it's possible to return to Australia. The BCCI has been working on a range of options. That's now narrowed down to the Maldives and Sri Lanka. The BCCI is committed not only to the first move but also to putting on a charter to bring them back to Australia,” Hockley said to reporters. After the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League was ‘indefinitely suspended,’ there were uncertainties on the plans for the Australian players and former players who were part of different teams as the Australian government has mandated return from India as a punishable offence.

PBKS co-owner Ness Wadia eyeing September window for IPL 2021 comeback

There are concerns surrounding the future of the Indian Premier League after its 14th edition was suspended due to the rising number of cases in franchises. However, some franchise owners are not worried bout the future and backing the league to emerge stronger out of the latest crisis due to Covid-19. A co-owner of the revamped Punjab Kings, Ness Wadia has said that the league that started in 2008 is the most ‘flexible, adaptable and adjustable’ and it can sustain any sort of circumstances. "This is the No 1 tournament in the world. Not just in terms of value, but also for its adaptability. It is the league that is the most flexible, adaptable and adjustable. Whether the move to South Africa in 2009, to UAE in 2014 and 2020, and whether it being held in India the in most gruelling of Covid situations and circumstances, it always emerged strong. There won't be any impact on the league in future. The decision to suspend is right and I am sure they will hold it again," Wadia told Cricbuzz. Although Wadia backed the BCCI’s move of suspending the tournament in wake of the rising number of cases in the bio bubbles of various franchises and also in the outside world in India, he seems confident the 14th edition will resume sometime later this year. "It is very unfortunate but it is a decision that is correct under the current circumstances. I would say given the drastic increase in cases in the last two-three weeks, it has brought in a new dimension to the planning that was done at the beginning," Wadia added. He echoed optimism in line with the thoughts of IPL chairman Brijesh Patel who earlier today said that the BCCI is looking to find a window either before or after the ICC World T20 scheduled to be played later this year. “I think it ( IPL) will definitely come back, sooner than later. If you look at the cricketing window - September before the T20 World Cup. That could happen,” Wadia told Sportstar. Meanwhile, many overseas players who were part of various IPL franchises have left India and some of them have also reached their home countries.

IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel confirms; BCCI seeking window around ICC World T20 to complete IPL 2021

Amid increasing uncertainty over the fate of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League that was cut short due to rising number of Covid-19 cases across multiple franchises, IPL governing council chairman Brijesh Patel has said that the tournament will be resumed from where it was left and during a window period before or after the ICC World T20 scheduled for later this year. “The remaining 31 matches will be completed whenever we can. So, matches will resume from where we left this year. We have to look at a window, before the ICC T20 World Cup or after the World Cup (October-November 2021),” Brijesh Patel said in an interview with News 18. He also added that the BCCI and IPL governing council first thought of rescheduling some matches of the sides that were affected by the Covid-19 cases in their camps. However, he added that once it spread across to as many as four franchises, the option of rescheduling matches became untenable and the BCCI had to take a tough call on suspending the league. Reportedly, the BCCI is set to lose approximately Rs 2,000 crore after a suspended edition of the IPL and hence it is likely that the board will be willing to find a window to complete its cash cow.