IPL 2021: New Zealand travel ban on India could affect Kiwi players, teams anxious

Wellington, April 9: New Zealand's travel ban from India starting Sunday (April 11) could impact its cricketers playing in the IPL 2021 and force them to fly straight to the UK for the two-Test series against England in May-June, followed by the World Test Championship final.

Captain Kane Williamson, pacers Trent Boult and Kyle Jamieson are among the nine New Zealand players taking part in the IPL beginning on Friday (April 9).

"We're monitoring the situation and are in contact with the IPL franchises to keep the lines of communication open, because the tournament's due to go for some time," Richard Boock, NZC's public affairs manager was quoted as saying by 'New Zealand Herald'.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Thursday announced an April 11 to 28 ban on arrivals from India in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in the country.

"We're prepared to discuss all contingencies, if the situation warrants. For argument's sake, if it occurred with one of the test players, it might make more sense for them to continue on to England (for the test tour and world championship final)," Boock added. New Zealand play two Tests in England between May 25 to June 14, followed by the WTC final against India from June 18. India has been recording more than one lakh cases for the past few days.

"Ultimately, these decisions around travel into high-risk countries generally will come down to individuals, but also if it's a workforce, their employers. So those are judgements they need to make," Ardern said. The IPL 2021 is set to begin on April 9 and ending on May 30.

New Zealand players in the IPL: Kane Williamson (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Mitchell Santner (Chennai Super Kings), Trent Boult (Mumbai Indians), Kyle Jamieson (Royal Challengers Bangalore), James Neesham (Rajasthan Royals), Finn Allen (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Adam Milne (Mumbai Indians), Lockie Ferguson (Kolkata Knight Riders), Tim Seifert (Kolkata Knight Riders).