New Zealand Cricket confirms availability of Kiwi players for second leg of IPL 2021

New Zealand cricket chief David White has confirmed the availability of Kiwi players for the second phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) that is scheduled to take place in the UAE later next month. While speaking to Pakistan's GeoTV, White said that all the players who are contracted with IPL franchises will be allowed to take part in the second leg of the cash-rich tournament instead of the bilateral series against Pakistan. New Zealand is slated to play a white-ball series against Pakistan during the same period. 

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, while Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson, Lockie Ferguson represent Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Kolkata Knight Riders respectively. Adam Milne, Tim Seifert, Finn Allen are other Kiwi players contracted with IPL franchises. 

The BCCI suffered a blow when England and Bangladesh announced their players won't be taking part in the second phase of IPL 2021 due to prior international commitments and the upcoming T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, Australian players' availability is still under the cloud after they pulled out from the recently-concluded white-ball series against the West Indies citing personal reasons. However, it has been learnt that the BCCI is in talks with foreign boards to make sure their players take part in the remaining matches of IPL 2021. 

IPL 2021 resumption details

The second leg of IPL 2021 is slated to resume from September 19 with the final set to be played on October 15. IPL 2021 will resume with a "blockbuster clash" between defending champion Mumbai Indians and MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings. There are also going to be seven double-headers with the first match starting at 3:30 pm IST and the second match at 7:30 pm IST. Most of the 31 matches will be played in Dubai (13), followed by Sharjah (10) and Abu Dhabi (8). The knockout stage of the premier T20 competition will begin on October 10 with Qualifier 1 taking place in Dubai, the Eliminator and Qualifier 2 in Sharjah on October 11 and 13, respectively. 

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