Missing Tests against England for IPL 'not the preferred thing': Williamson
Feb 21, 2021
Auckland [New Zealand], February 21 : New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson on Sunday said that missing the Tests against England for playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is not his preferred option.
Right now, it is yet to be confirmed whether the latter stages of the Indian Premier League (IPL) would be clashing with the Test series between England and New Zealand.
"It's certainly not the preferred thing. I know when plans were put in place that wasn't the idea then, but as we've seen, you can make plans in this day in age, and very rarely do they go to plan," ESPNcricinfo quoted Williamson as saying.
"For us, it's being able to adapt as quickly as possible, we still have to wait and see when dates are finalised to truly know what is happening before any decision is made but the ideal scenario is to be available and around for all that cricket. We'll just have to wait and see," he added.
Earlier, it was confirmed that New Zealand Cricket (NZC) will be granting No-Objection Certificates to its players for the upcoming edition of the IPL.
Along with granting NOCs, it was also confirmed that the Kiwis would be available for the entire edition of the IPL.
New Zealand Cricket spokesperson Richard Boock confirmed to ANI via email that the board would be granting NOCs and the Kiwis would be available for the entire edition of the IPL.
"Yes, the NOCs would be given and the cricketers would be available for the entire edition," said Boock.
As per some media reports, it was being said that the Kiwis would miss the playoffs stage of the IPL as New Zealand is set to play the two-match Test series against England in June this year. However, this clarification from Boock has put an end to all rumours.
Williamson will turn up to play for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in this year's IPL.
