Dinesh Karthik all but ruled out Pat Cummins from the remainder of IPL 2021 season in the UAE.© BCCI/IPL
Last month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had confirmed that the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season will be held in the United Arab Emirates “considering the monsoon season in India in the months of September-October”. While this news brought much joy to IPL fans around the world, many were left wondering about the participation of their favourite overseas stars. There has been a lot of speculation that many big names will be missing when IPL 2021 resumes in the UAE and on Friday Dinesh Karthik all but ruled out Kolkata Knight Riders’ star pacer Pat Cummins.
The former KKR captain revealed that the Australian pace sensation has himself said “that he will not come”. Karthik’s comments will come as a big blow to a team which was languishing in seventh place in the IPL Points Table when the tournament had to be postponed.”Pat Cummins has himself said that he will not come,” Karthik told TOI.It’s still unclear whether the England players will be allowed to participate in the tournament by their board but Karthik said he his ready to lead the KKR team if regular skipper Eoin Morgan doesn’t turn up.”But when it comes to Eoin Morgan, there are still three months to go. A lot can change from now till September. But if I am asked to lead, I will be ready for it,” said the wicketkeeper-batsman.Numerous international stars, especially those from Australia, had to make a quick exit from India after the IPL 2021 was postponed after COVID-19 breached the IPL bio-bubble, with several players and staff members across teams testing positive.PromotedCummins, David Warner, Steve Smith were among the Australian players, coaches and officials who only completed the mandatory quarantine period earlier this week after returning on a charter flight from the Maldives.They spent about 10 days in the Maldives before the Australian government lifted a temporary ban on citizens who had been in India from travelling home.
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