IPL 2021 | Franchises feel betrayed when players back out, remarks Aakash Chopra after England's mass withdrawal

09/13/2021

Aakash Chopra has asserted that almost half a dozen English players have betrayed their respective IPL franchises, by backing out of the upcoming second leg of the tournament. Chopra added that the IPL family doesn't forget and that the franchises would react accordingly during the future auctions.

With the 2021 IPL second leg's resumption less than a week away, several franchises have had a tough time in restructuring their setup, with players pulling out due to varied reasons.

Recently, England's Dawid Malan, Chris Woakes and Jonny Bairstow backed out from the tournament. Ben Stokes continues to be a major miss for the Rajasthan Royals, after having taken a break to focus on his mental well-being, so too do Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer. Archer has been ruled out of action for the rest of the year with elbow injury.

Former India opener Aakash Chopra asserted that the mass pull-out from players makes the franchises betrayed, after them having undergone a lot of thinking process during the auctions.

"The English players will have to keep this thing slightly in mind that when you pull out your name from an IPL season, the franchise that has bought you feels cheated, they feel you have been betrayed by them," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

"Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes - they were already not coming. But now Dawid Malan, Chris Woakes and Jonny Bairstow have also taken their name back. That means half a dozen English players will not be part of the IPL. It has been a mass exodus. The IPL family doesn't forget."

The 43-year-old further emphasized on how the franchises would have developed their game-plan around a certain player’s presence, and that their withdrawal would seriously affect the balance of the teams.

"Of course, these are tough times. We do understand all of that but it remains in the mind that I had gone with you and had created my strategy after a lot of thinking, you were an important cog of my wheel, but the cog has left,” he explained.

“This means when the auction happens the next time, they have an elephant's memory, they will definitely not forget who all had come and who all left. And because of this when they say that Mitchell Starc will be paid a lot, it is possible he may not get it because when you take back your name twice it remains in the mind of all teams.”

The second leg of the IPL will resume from Sunday, September 19, with Chennai Super Kings taking on Mumbai Indians in Dubai.