England all-rounder Chris Woakes has pulled out of the second phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 in the UAE. However, he revealed the reason as well. He stated that he decided while T20 World Cup and the Ashes commitment keeping in mind.
Notably, Woakes was one of the three England players along with Johnny Bairstow and Dawid Malan to opt-out from the league. He also said that there is “too much cricket” in a short span of time. However, the IPL 2021 will resume from September 19 while the T20 World Cup will begin from October 17 in the UAE and Oman.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Capitals signed Australia’s Ben Dwarshius as a replacement for Chris Woakes for the tournament as well. Delhi Capitals will start their campaign against Sunrirsers Hyderabad on September 22 in Dubai as well.
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“My inclusion in the World Cup squad, I didn’t know was going to happen – especially a couple of months ago. The IPL has been rescheduled and thrown on to the end of our summer,” Chris Woakes told The Guardian. “With the World Cup and the Ashes, it would have been too much in a short space of time. I would have loved to have been part of the IPL but something has to give.”
“A World Cup and an Ashes tour, it’s almost as big a winter as our summer was in 2019. It’s a shame with what’s going on Covid-wise that it’s not going to be as normal as everyone would like. But, from a cricket perspective, it’s very exciting,” Chris Woakes concluded.
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Meanwhile, former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra believes that the IPL franchises will not forget the way England players pulled out from the second phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the UAE.
He elaborated: “Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes – they were already not coming. But now Dawid Malan, Chris Woakes and Jonny Bairstow have also taken their name back. That means half a dozen English players will not be part of the IPL. It has been a mass exodus. The IPL family doesn’t forget. The English players will have to keep this thing slightly in mind that when you pull out your name from an IPL season, the franchise that has bought you feels cheated, they feel you have been betrayed by them.”
