‘England players likely to miss IPL’

centrally contracted players are likely to miss the remainder of the Covid-19-hit Indian Premier League season if the Twenty20 tournament clashes with the international schedule, managing director Ashley Giles said yesterday. The IPL was suspended indefinitely last week after several personnel tested positive for Covid-19. A potential window to complete the IPL is before the Twenty20 World Cup in October, when England are scheduled to tour Bangladesh and Pakistan. “If those tours go ahead I’d expect them (players) to be there,” Giles told British media. “We’re planning on involvement of England players in England matches.” Giles had previously agreed that England players who were involved in the latter stages of the IPL could miss the two-Test series against top-ranked New Zealand.