English players to miss remainder of IPL for Pakistan series

The managing director of England men's cricket has made it official that English players will not take part in the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) if it collided with the Pakistan series.

In a statement on Thursday, Ashley Giles said that no centrally contracted players will be released for the remaining matches of IPL even if they are rested for the Pakistan or Bangladesh series.

Giles also confirmed that the England Cricket Board (ECB) had no plans to reshuffle the schedule of the upcoming Test series against India to create a window for the IPL.

“We have a full schedule if we go from the end of the fifth Test in September. We are set to leave for Bangladesh in the next couple of days. We have a full schedule right through, including Pakistan and wherever the T20 World Cup is,” said Giles.

“We are going to have to give some of these guys a break at some point. But the intention of giving guys a break for, say, Bangladesh wouldn’t be for them to go and play cricket elsewhere,” he added.

As per Indian media reports, the remaining IPL matches are scheduled to resume on September 18 and conclude on October 12. This would be the time when England’s men cricket team will be touring Bangladesh and Pakistan.

“We have to manage our schedule now, so we get our guys arriving in the best shape possible for the T20 World Cup and Ashes,” Giles maintained.