Pat Cummins not to return for the second phase of IPL 2021: Reports

Kolkata Knight Riders quick Pat Cummins may not return for the second phase of Indian Premier League 2021, as per a report in Sydney Morning Herald.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president Rajeev Shukla has confirmed that the second half of IPL 2021 will be played in the UAE on Saturday.

Cummins, who has a multi-dollar deal in the IPL, has confirmed that he will not take part in the remainder of the tournament. Australia will tour the West Indies and it is reported that David Warner and Pat Cummins could be rested for the same.

“David Warner and Pat Cummins could be rested from the West Indies tour because of family reasons – others could follow after a draining year in several bubbles – and Cummins, despite a multimillion-dollar IPL contract, has already said he will not return to the T20 tournament this season,” stated the report.

On the other hand, the Indian board confirmed that the rest of the IPL 2021 will take place in September-October in the UAE due to the monsoon season in India during the same time. Interestingly, BCCI didn’t mention Covid-19 as the reason to shift the tourney to UAE, which was a bit surprising.

“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced to complete the remaining matches of VIVO Indian Premier League 2021 season in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E) considering the monsoon season in India in the months of September-October this year,” BCCI said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Pat Cummins was in red-hot form before the 14th season of the Indian Premier League was indefinitely postponed by BCCI due to the surge in number of cases.

Cummins scalped nine wickets in seven matches for Kolkata Knight Riders and he was the pick of the bowlers for the Eoin Morgan-led team. Furthermore, Cummins scored 93 runs, including a blistering knock against Chennai Super Kings.

However, KKR didn’t have the best of first half of IPL 2021 as they could only manage two wins out of the seven matches they played. Thus, KKR will need to turn the tables in the second half.