IPL 2021: How new cut-off rule in county cricket denied Reece Topley chance to play for CSK

England left-arm fast-bowler Reece Topley could have replaced Australian quick Josh Hazlewood in Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) squad for this year’s edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, Reece Topley was denied the opportunity despite CSK’s approach due to a new cut-off date established within county cricket for players to be able to sign […]
 
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IPL 2021: How new cut-off rule in county cricket denied Reece Topley chance to play for CSK

England left-arm fast-bowler Reece Topley could have replaced Australian quick Josh Hazlewood in Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) squad for this year’s edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, Reece Topley was denied the opportunity despite CSK’s approach due to a new cut-off date established within county cricket for players to be able to sign IPL contracts.

This cut-off date came into being back in 2018 when county coaches and directors of cricket called a meeting to resolve the issue around Liam Plunkett, David Willey and Tom Curran becoming last-minute injury replacements for IPL franchises. It meant that the trio was unavailable to take part in the respectable clubs’ beginning fixtures in the County Championship.

In the meeting, Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, call for the competition to be “future-proofed” via a cut-off date, beyond which county players wouldn’t be able to sign IPL deals as replacement cricketers.

In a report by ESPNcricinfo, it was mentioned that “a cut-off date of February 28 – 10 days after the auction – was agreed for this season, with a similar arrangement likely to follow in future years. The date applied to players who draw their primary salary from their county rather than from the ECB.”

IPL 2021: How new cut-off rule in county cricket denied Reece Topley chance to play for CSK

IPL 2021: How new cut-off rule in county cricket denied Reece Topley chance to play for CSK

The separation of those who draw their main salary out of county deals and those who do so from the ECB meant that while Jason Roy could join Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) as replacement of Mitchell Marsh for IPL 2021, Reece Topley had to stay back to play for Surrey and couldn’t fill the void left in the CSK camp by Hazlewood.

How new cut-off rule in county cricket denied Reece Topley chance to play for CSK

Australia’s left-arm pacer Josh Hazlewood eventually did come in place for Hazlewood, which therefore denied Topley, who went unsold at the auction in February, a chance to play his maiden IPL season. It is learnt that Reece Topley was also contracted by Rajasthan Royals (RR) with the prospect of a trial after it got confirmed that their spearhead Jofra Archer won’t be able to take any part in the IPL this summer.

“There was an opportunity to go out”, Reece Topley was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. “It’s unfortunate – I was really keen to go, but there’s something in place that means English county players can’t go out as replacements. Jason went but he’s contracted to the ECB, whereas I’m contracted to Surrey, and I fell under that rule. It was something I’d have liked to have done but those are the rules.”

Denied IPL debut, Reece Topley has instead played two of Surrey’s first three County Championship matches so far and the paceman, who had bowled in only three first-class games since 2015, has performed quite commendably, with strong performances against Gloucestershire and Middlesex. Featuring in the Championship has made Topley a potential entrant into England’s Ashes squad later in the year, where three lions could do with a tall, quick left-arm pace option for the Australian tracks.

Meanwhile, despite the ongoing health crisis in India, it is understood that most of the England players currently part of IPL 2021 would remain here for the entire tournament.

With India being enlisted in the red-zone countries due to the latest surge in COVID-19 cases, players returning to the UK would have to quarantine for 10 days in a designated hotel.

No exemption on quarantine protocols for elite sportspeople means that RR’s Liam Livingstone opted to return home before the new travelling regulation was implemented.

“We continue to monitor and work with the players on an individual basis,” an ECB spokesperson told the PA news agency. “We are offering advice daily to those that seek it. Our thoughts are with the people of India during these difficult times.”