Huge boost for IPL 2021 franchises as England players set to skip New Zealand Test

In what comes as a huge boost for Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises, England players are set to skip the first Test against New Zealand to participate in the 14th edition of the lucrative T20 tournament, which will be held in India from April 9 to May 30.  

With T20 World Cups and ODI World Cups approaching, the ECB has given the option of picking between the Test series and IPL. The England players, if their team go till the final of IPL 2021, will at least miss the first Test match against New Zealand, scheduled to start from June 2.  

England head coach Chris Silverwood confirmed the development as he said the players will be staying for the entire IPL 2021. 

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"We haven't looked at selection or anything like that for the Tests yet, but, for me, playing for your country is a big thing. It's difficult to change anything so they'll be staying for the whole IPL as it stands, yes. Listen, we'll be looking at the Test series and working our way back to see what sort of preparation we need and we haven't done that at this time. It's something we will be doing,” Silverwood said during a virtual press conference. 

The round-robin phase of IPL 2021 will end on May 23 with the playoffs and final taking place from May 25 to 30.   

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England's players in IPL (List includes players who aren't part of the Test team): Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Liam Livingstone (all Rajasthan Royals), Sam Curran, Moeen Ali (both Chennai Super Kings), Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan (both Punjab Kings), Chris Woakes, Sam Billings, Tom Curran (all Delhi Capitals), Eoin Morgan (Kolkata Knight Riders), Jonny Bairstow (Sunrisers Hyderabad).