The England and India players were supposed to fly into UAE from Manchester together in a bubble to bubble transfer but COVID-19 cases in the visitors’ camp forced IPL teams to make their own arrangements.
The duo will reach Dubai on Sunday morning on a flight arranged by their franchise.
Reigning champions Mumbai Indians (MI) will face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the opening game at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Ajay Ratra, who is currently overlooking the Delhi Capitals’ pre-season camp along with assistant coach Pravin Amre, believes the squad has sufficient time to get back into the rhythm for the second half of the tournament.
Lewis, who has played 45 T20Is and 57 ODIs for West Indies and has previously played for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, will replace Jos Buttler.
The IPL, which is currently an eight-team tournament, will become a 10-team affair from the next edition and during a recent governing council meeting, the modalities of the bidding process were chalked out.
In place of him, director of cricket operations Mike Hesson will take over as head coach till the end of the season.
Snapped up by the Rajasthan at the IPL Auction for 1.2 crore, the left-arm pacer went on to impress everyone with his bowling in the first phase of IPL 2021, picking up seven wickets in as many matches.
The watches will ensure that the health department can check on the movement of the team members during their quarantine period if the need arises.
Last month, the BCCI announced the schedule for the remainder of the IPL 2021 which will be held in the UAE. A total of 31 matches will be played in the duration of 27 days.
The IPL will most likely see the addition of two new teams in next year’s edition. There will be a mega-auction. Dhoni will play a key role in the formation of the squad.
The talks of the BCCI wanting to add two new franchises to the IPL has been around for a while and initially, it was thought that this change will take place on the current IPL season.
Morgan and Buttler apparently used the word ‘sir’ to mock Indian fans during the social media interaction.
“IPL will be held between September 19 and October 15,” Rajeev Shukla, vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), told IANS on Wednesday.
Cummins has told KKR’s veteran India player Dinesh Karthik that he won’t be able to make it for the second leg of the tournament.
The franchises too haven’t got any intimation though they have been told that they will get to know only after May 29.
India is battling a devastating health crisis in the second wave of the global pandemic, which is currently causing over 4,000 daily deaths.
Narine and Russell along with West Indians who were part of the TV production in the suspended IPL reached the Caribbean, informed Windies cricket on Sunday.
Star Sports has bagged the IPL’s television and digital rights for 2018-2022 for Rs 16,348 crore, agreeing to pay about Rs 54.5 crore per game in a 60-match season. Only 29 games were played before the pandemic halted this year’s IPL.
RCB skipper Virat Kohli reached Mumbai on Tuesday, the day IPL-14 was indefinitely suspended due to multiple COVID cases in its bio-bubble.
The Australians will remain in the Maldives until the conclusion of the travel pause pertaining to flights from India to Australia.
Speaking to ANI, a senior CSK official said that both Hussey and bowling coach L Balaji were flown into Chennai to ensure better control over the situation.
The 2021 IPL was postponed this week after multiple Covid-19 cases emerged within the tournament’s bio-bubbles in Ahmedabad and New Delhi.
“India is a special country going through a very difficult time. Thank you for welcoming me and my family like you always do. Please stay safe and look after yourselves,” tweeted Buttler.
The submission came on Wednesday during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which sought enquiry as to why the IPL was being prioritised over public health.