IPL 2021: England pacer Mark Wood withdraws from IPL auction

Chennai, February 18: England's Mark Wood has withdrawn his name from the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) Player Auction, scheduled to take place on Thursday (February 18) in Chennai. According to ESPNcricinfo, franchises were informed at a briefing in Chennai on Wednesday (February 17) that the pacer had decided to pull out of the auction in order to spend time with his family at home.

Wood, the England pacer, had placed himself in the Rs 2 crore category, the highest reserved base price for players in the auction. Wood and wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow on Wednesday (February 17) had joined England's squad in Chennai ahead of the third Test against India. The third Test will begin on February 24 and it will be a day-night affair in Ahmedabad.

"The pair have rejoined the England men's cricket team after time at home," England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had said. The pair had also attended "their first training session after coming out of quarantine". On Tuesday, India levelled the four-match Test series 1-1 against England after an emphatic 317-run win in the second Test here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

India remains in contention to make the final of the ICC World Test Championship after completing an impressive victory over England in the second Test to draw level in the four-match series.

The victory lifted India to the second position with 69.7 percentage points on the points table but they cannot afford to lose another match as they need to win 2-1 or 3-1 to qualify for the final of the maiden edition of the championship.