Australia’s chairman of selectors, George Bailey is confident that the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) will be good preparation for their players ahead of the T20 World Cup. Both tournaments will be played in the UAE, with the World Cup starting a couple of days after the conclusion of the IPL 2021. 

 Talking to the reporters, George Bailey said, “We absolutely have full trust that the IPL will be good prep.” 

Bailey said that the Australian hierarchy hopes that the IPL franchises select their players in the XI more often in the tournament. The 2021 IPL came to a halt halfway through its group stage in April due to multiple Covid-19 cases coming up with the tournament bio-bubbles in Ahmedabad and New Delhi. It will now be resuming on September 19 in the UAE.

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George Bailey further elaborated, “We’re throwing a bit of faith in the franchises that they will pick our players so they are getting those games, and bat and bowl them in the exact roles that we’d like them to for the Australian team, that would be also great. But I’m not sure we’ll get any say in that.”

Most of Australia’s T20 regulars have not had too much match practice in the last couple of months or so. This, coupled with the uncertainty around the country’s domestic schedule meant that the selection committee had to be flexible with their selection.

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George Bailey said, “We don’t know what the domestic schedule is going to look like, so we’ve got to be flexible around what cricket guys can play. When you look through that squad, it’s an experienced T20 list so I don’t think not having played T20 cricket for a little period of time will affect them.”