IPL auction 2021: Teams edgy to place heavy bids for England, New Zealand cricketers

The Indian Premier League 2021 (IPL 2021) season is set to commence sometime in April this year, i.e. immediately after the conclusion of the ongoing India vs England series. While the tournament will conclude sometime in June, its finishing stages is set to collide with New Zealand’s imminent Test tour to England. The Black Caps are slated to tour England two weeks in advance before their Test series, in order to adhere to their local quarantine norms.

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England, New Zealand Test specialists set to miss closing stages of IPL 2021

The two Test matches between hosts England and New Zealand will be played between June 2 and 14. According to reports,  New Zealand Cricket is planning to make the national team reach England in the middle of May. On the other hand, even England’s Test hopefuls will be getting inside their bio-bubble weeks prior to the commencement of the series.

Their series will definitely loom large in the minds of all IPL franchises before they place their bets on England and New Zealand Test hopefuls at the IPL auction 2021. While 13 England and New Zealand cricketers combined have already been retained by their franchises, around 41 players from both countries are set to be up for grabs at the bidding event.

New Zealand’s up-and-rising star Kyle Jamieson was earlier considered to set the cash registers ringing at the auction. With New Zealand’s away series upcoming up, franchises are now likely to bid lesser on him since he will not play the closing stages of the tournament. Apart from Kyle Jamieson, other New Zealand and England’s Test specialists whose IPL contracts are likely to get impacted are Moeen Ali, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner and others.

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Here is a look at all 41 players (from ENG and NZ) who will be up for sale at IPL auction 2021.

England players: Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Moeen Ali, Dawid Malan, Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid, Tom Curran, Liam Livingstone, David Willey, Ben Duckett, Liam Plunkett, Nayan Doshi, Lewis Gregory, Reece Topley, George Garton and Ravi Bopara.

New Zealand players: Glenn Phillips, Scott Kuggeleijn, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Corey Anderson, Devon Conway, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Mitchell McClenaghan, Finn Allen, Colin De Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Jimmy Neesham, Neil Wagner, Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro and Josh Clarkson.

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England and New Zealand players retained by franchises for IPL 2021

England players: Jofra Archer (RR), Ben Stokes (RR), Jos Buttler (RR), Eoin Morgan (KKR), Chris Jordan (KXIP), Sam Curran (KXIP), Jonny Bairstow (SRH) and Chris Woakes (DC).

New Zealand players: Mitchell Santner (CSK), Lockie Ferguson (KKR), Tim Seifert (KKR), Trent Boult (MI) and Kane Williamson (SRH).

The upcoming England vs New Zealand Test series will not form a part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship. However, India’s current home series against England marks some of the closing and crucial set of matches of the inaugural Test event. Here is a look at ICC World Test Championship standings.

ICC World Test Championship standings

IPL auction 2021 updates

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had announced on January 27 that the forthcoming IPL auction will take place in Chennai after the completion of the second Test match between India and England. It was confirmed on the Indian Premier League's social media account that the auction will take place on Thursday, February 18. According to the Star Sports Network, the live telecast of the program will begin at 2 PM (IST) while the auction will begin from 3 PM onwards.

As many as 292 players will be up for grabs at the auction. Here is a look at the entire IPL auction new players list 2021.

A look into IPL auction new players list 2021

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Image source: IPLT20.COM