IPL 2021 | Bairstow, Malan and Woakes withdraw from IPL second leg, PBKS rope in Aiden Markram

Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan and Chris Woakes have withdrawn from the upcoming leg of the IPL citing personal reasons.

"They (Bairstow and Malan) won't be boarding the flight to UAE. One of the reasons for their pull out is the six-day quarantine which they didn't need to do earlier," a BCCI official told PTI on Saturday.

Bairstow has been a strong presence for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in recent years, partnering with David Warner at the top. Malan, the top ranked T20I batsman made his IPL debut in India earlier this year, for the Punjab Kings. 

Woakes too, who had featured for the Delhi Capitals in the tournament’s first leg and picked up five wickets from three games, has opted out. The all-rounder was recently included in England’s T20 World Cup squad, after returning to the format earlier this summer after six years.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Kings have roped in South Africa’s Aiden Markram as Malan’s replacement. Markram is currently on national duties for a limited-overs series in Sri Lanka, which concludes with the third and final T20I on September 14.

The tournament will resume on September 19, with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on Chennai Super Kings in Dubai.