From September 19th through October 10th, 2021, the remaining 31 matches of the Indian Premier League 2021 season will be played in the United Arab Emirates. The eight IPL teams were dealt a major setback when the IPL 2021 season was postponed indefinitely after the first 24 days of the competition were held in India.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has reportedly ruled out the prospect of England players competing in the rest of the IPL 2021. England’s cricket schedule is jam-packed, as they will face India in a five-match Test series from August 4 to September 14. Following the Indian series, England will play Bangladesh and Pakistan in the limited-overs series in September and October, respectively.
Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL’s previous champions, will also suffer a major setback. The KKR team was captained by England captain Eoin Morgan. In the second half, the KKR franchise will have to choose a new captain to replace him. KKR will also need to recruit new players since Morgan will be missed as captain and a player. Kolkata Knight Riders will have to pick certain players ahead of the second half of the IPL 2021 season to satisfy this double punch.
Eoin Morgan has shown to be a great asset for KKR as a batsman and a leader. While Dinesh Karthik is set to take over as captain in Morgan’s absence, the Knight Riders will also consider other possibilities for replacing Morgan as a middle-order batsman.
#Thisara Perera
Thisara Perera, a former Sri Lankan captain, and all-rounder might be the ideal player for KKR, and they could pursue him since the 32-year-old Perera has more than 10 years of international cricket experience. The all-rounder has one of the greatest strike rates in the shortest version of the game and also serves as the team’s sixth bowling option. The 32-year-old also has almost a decade of international racing experience and can aid the captain with leadership duties. Perera has 1204 runs in 84 T20s for Sri Lanka, with a strike rate of 151.6. He also has 51 wickets to his name. Perera debuted in the IPL in 2010.
#Ross Taylor
Ross Taylor is a former captain of the New Zealand national cricket team and an international player. He is New Zealand’s top run-scorer in Test and ODI cricket, batting primarily at number four. Taylor also played in the Indian Premier League for the Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Daredevils, and Pune Warriors India. As an RCB batsman, he has one of the greatest strike rates and is renowned as a ‘finisher.’ He was chosen to the Guyana Amazon Warriors team for the Caribbean Premier League in July 2020. He has the skills and expertise to take Morgan’s place at KKR.
#Alex Carey
Alex Carey, a 29-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman from Australia, is a possible replacement for Eoin Morgan in the Kolkata Knight Riders team. In the IPL 2020 season, he was with the Delhi Capitals. However, because of Rishabh Pant, he didn’t receive many opportunities in that team and was eventually discarded. Carey may be a viable substitute for Morgan since he can bat in the middle order and offer the momentum that KKR needed in the first half of the IPL 2021 season; if given the opportunity, Carey should aim to make an impact. Alex scored 412 runs in 12 matches in the BBL 2020-21 season, including one century, at an average of 34.33 and a strike rate of 126.38.
#Carlos Brathwaite
Carlos Brathwaite is a former captain of the West Indies Twenty20 International (T20I) squad and a cricketer from Barbados. He debuted in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in April 2016, after being purchased at auction for Rs. 4.2 crore by Delhi Daredevils (having had a base price of Rs. 30 lakh). In the 2018 IPL auction, he was purchased by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in January 2018. In the player auction for the 2019 Indian Premier League, he was purchased by the Kolkata Knight Riders in December 2018. The Kolkata Knight Riders released him prior to the 2020 IPL auction. Brathwaite has the ability to step in for Morgan and assist KKR to turn around their season.
#Aaron Finch
Aaron Finch is an Australian cricketer who currently serves as the captain of the Australian limited-overs side. Finch has represented a number of Indian Premier League clubs (IPL). He’s played for the Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Daredevils, Pune Warriors India, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Mumbai Indians, among others. He was purchased by Gujarat Lions in 2016 and played for them for two seasons before being purchased by Kings XI Punjab in the 2018 IPL Auction. Royal Challengers Bangalore purchased him ahead of the 2020 season. Finch is a seasoned player who can step in for Morgan at KKR.
