IPL 2021: Ashley Giles "not aware of anything official, any requests to shift anything"

Ashley Giles, the Managing Director of England Men's Cricket, said there would be no changes to their plans to accommodate a window for the resumption of IPL 2021.

According to an ESPN Cricinfo report, Giles opined that some of England's players would be rested in the upcoming tours of Pakistan and Bangladesh, that are most likely to take place at the same time as the second phase of the IPL.

He confirmed there were no plans by the ECB to tweak their schedule, especially for the fifth Test against Bangladesh, which is slated for September 14.

The England side will leave for Bangladesh a week after the final Test and move on to Pakistan for two T20Is that have been tentatively scheduled for October 14 and 15. The remainder of the IPL is likely to resume around September 18 and continue until October 12.

“I'm not aware of anything official, any requests to shift anything," Giles explained. "As far as we're concerned and what we're prepared for, the matches will be where they are. I'm not surprised there's all sorts of speculation. Everyone wants to get their cricket in. But we've not received anything official and we're cracking on.”

"We have a full schedule,” he added. “If we go from the end of the fifth Test in September, we are set to leave for Bangladesh on September 19 or 20. We have a full schedule right through, including Pakistan and wherever the T20 World Cup is,” Giles continued.

"We are going to have to give some of these guys a break at some point. But the intention of giving guys a break for, say, Bangladesh wouldn't be for them to go and play cricket elsewhere. We have to manage our schedule now so we get our guys arriving in the best shape possible for the T20 World Cup and the Ashes," he said.

The report also speculates the relationship between the two national cricket associations is good at the moment, and added that there is no room for the IPL in an already cramped schedule.

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Giles addresses Sam Billings' England call-up despite being part of IPL 2021

Giles also shed light on Sam Billings' call-up to the England squad as reserve keeper and batsman. Billings is the only player in the squad who was part of the IPL, but has spent comparatively less time in the bio-bubble life. This enabled him to represent Kent in the LV= County Championship soon after his return from the suspended IPL.

"I think we felt the best option was to allow the IPL players to take as much time as they needed after what they've been through this winter," Giles said. "If there was a strong case from the players to get back on the horse a bit earlier and play some cricket then we were prepared to listen to that as well. They know their bodies and minds as well as anyone.”

"That was the case with Billings. He went back to Kent and played some cricket to put himself in the frame. Communication was made from Chris Silverwood (the coach) to those players (Jonny Bairstow and Butler) about what the plan was. We felt there was no need to go back on that. They've been spending time with their families and Jos is away for a few days at the moment. We didn't want to drag those players out of that at the 11th hour. There was no plan to change that," signed off Giles.