Will such a big player get out of IPL- 2021

New Zealand fast bowler Scott Kuggeleijn has joined Royal Challengers Bangalore as a replacement for Australia quick Kane Richardson.

New Zealand pacer Scott Kuggeleijn has been roped in by Royal Challengers Bangalore as Kane Richardson's replacement, Kuggeleijn was already a part of the IPL bio-bubble as Mumbai Indians' reserve player and he will now make the switch to bolster a squad that was hit by departures recently.

Scott Kuggelejin Career

Scott is a great first-class bowler and a handy bowler in T20s. He has picked up 118 wickets in 120 T20 games he has played in. He has featured in 2 ODIs and 16 T20I for New Zealand. Scott was a part of the IPL season 2019, where he played for the CSK franchise. He played two games for them and picked a couple of wickets. Along with his bowling, in the domestic season of 2021, he showed his skills with the bat as well in the lower order.

India and Delhi Capitals off-spinner 

Ravichandran Ashwin has decided to cut short his IPL to ‘support’ his family and extended family in their ‘fight against Covid’. Ashwin is the biggest name to pull out of the tournament. 

Three Australians have left citing ‘personal reasons’ and an Englishman returned because of bubble fatigue. After the matches in Chennai and Mumbai, the IPL caravan is moving to Delhi and Ahmedabad before rounding off the group league phase in Bangalore and Kolkata. The first match in Delhi is on Wednesday, a city that has been facing an acute oxygen shortage. India recorded over 3.52 lakh new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending 8 am on Monday.

How many players have left yet?

Five as of now. Apart from Ashwin, Rajasthan Royals seamer Andrew Tye and his teammate Liam Livingstone have returned home. On Monday, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) informed through a tweet that leg-spinner Adam Zampa and seaming allrounder Kane Richardson would be returning to Australia. The tweet, however, mentioned “personal reasons”.

Why has Ashwin left?

After the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the senior off-spinner put out a tweet, saying: “I would be taking a break from this year’s IPL from tomorrow. My family and extended family are putting up a fight against #COVID19 and I want to support them during these tough times. I expect to return to play if things go in the right direction. Thank you @DelhiCapitals”.

A few days previously, Ashwin’s wife Prithi had mentioned that the virus had reached their doorstep. According to a franchise official, a “big chunk” of the off-the-field conversations in the team have been revolving around the situation outside. “There are players and/or support staff in the team whose close relatives have been affected by the virus. It’s not easy,” he said.