New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson reckons that the Blackcaps stars would “prefer” not having to miss out on their two-match Test series against England due to the Indian Premier League (IPL) but it would be just another case of things not going to plan in the current situation.
While the dates for IPL 2021 have not been confirmed, it is expected to be held across the months of April, May and early June. New Zealand and England will play two Tests at Lord’s and Edgbaston between June 2-14. On being asked about a probable clash, Kane Williamson said: “It’s certainly not the preferred thing.”
“I know when plans were put in place that wasn’t the idea then, but as we’ve seen, you can make plans in this day in age and very rarely do they go to plan,” Williamson told ESPNCricinfo.
Williamson and pacers, Trent Boult and Kyle Jamieson, who are part of the Test set up have deals with IPL franchises. Lockie Ferguson, who is part of the KKR, is also knocking on the doors of the Test team and could potentially miss out.
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“For us it’s being able to adapt as quickly as possible, we still have to wait and see when dates are finalised to truly know what is happening before any decision is made but the ideal scenario is to be available and around for all that cricket. We’ll just have to wait and see,” Williamson added.
Notably, New Zealand are currently hosting Australia for a five-match T20I series. In the first T20I, the hosts defeated the visitors by 53 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Batting first, the Blackcaps stitched a total of 184/5, thanks to Devon Conway’s unbeaten knock of 99. In reply, the Aussies were bowled out for 131 as Ish Sodhi bagged four wickets.