Australia recently pulled out of their tour to South Africa, citing concerns about the pandemic as the reason, but as the IPL approaches it wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest that their players might have opposed the trip.
Image Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
The three Tests would have given Australia a shot at keeping their World Test Championship fate in their own hands but the time spent in South Africa was set to plunge the touring group back into another bubble.
Australia hosted India across a home summer and the four-Test series clearly took its toll on the group of players, many of whom will entertain hopes of playing in the IPL scheduled to get underway in April.
Any players wanting to take part in both the tour to South Africa and the IPL would need to commit, not only to a long stretch away from home, but also to life in successive bubbles.
A handful of Australians made the trip to the UAE for the 2020 IPL held late last year and those players returned home only to go straight back into training and soon another bio-secure environment.
South African officials are understandably upset, but Australian players appear unfazed by their board’s decision.
The squad for the T20I series against New Zealand remains unchanged for Australia, meaning their Test regulars will get a prolonged break from action before they are pressed into the IPL.
Test squad members Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and David Warner, were all retained by their respective IPL franchises and more registered themselves for the upcoming auction.
A total of 42 Australians have put their names down for the auction which will see a maximum of 22 overseas players acquired by franchises. The tournament is set to get underway on 11 April, with organisers hopeful of staging the event in India after being forced to put it on behind closed doors in the UAE last time out.
Written by James Richardson.
