Several England players opt-out from IPL 2021; replacements enforced

A number of England players have pulled out of the second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 due to the bio-bubble worries and anticipation for a long winter. Earlier, Jos Buttler withdrew his name from the second leg, but this time Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes, and Dawid Malan have confirmed their withdrawals as well.

Dawid Malan, the number one batsman in the T20I rankings, has played in the IPL for the first time this year. He came to the field in a match for Punjab Kings (PBKS) and scored 26 runs. The Kings have named South Africa’s Aiden Markram as his replacement.

Jonny Bairstow is playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in this year’s IPL, his spot in the team has been taken up by West Indies’ Sherfane Rutherford. Bairstow was in great form in the first part of this year’s event. He has scored 248 runs in 7 matches hitting 2 fifties at an average of 41.33 with a strike rate of 141.71. 

On the other hand, Chris Woakes has played for Delhi Capitals (DC) in the first part of the IPL 2021 and has taken 5 wickets in 3 matches for the team. The franchise has named Ben Dwarshuis in their squad as a replacement for him. 

Earlier, another England cricketer Jos Buttler also withdrew from the IPL 2021. He was in Rajasthan Royals (RR). England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who plays for the same team will not be able to play in the IPL due to a voluntary ban from cricket and Jofra Archer is unavailable due to injury.

The IPL 2021 was postponed midway due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in India in May. Now, according to the new schedule, the second round of the IPL 2021 will start from September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where a total of 31 matches including the final of the tournament will be held.

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