England and India players were supposed to fly from Manchester to UAE together in a bubble to bubble transfer, but COVID-19 cases at the spectators’ camp forced IPL teams to make their own arrangements.
The fifth Test between India and England was also postponed indefinitely after a junior physio Yogesh Parmar tested positive for the virus before the game.
Other members of India’s support staff, including head Ravi Shastri, were already in quarantine after they tested positive for the virus during the fourth Test at the Oval.
All players arriving in Dubai will now have to undergo a six-day quarantine and this could be the reason for Bairstow and Malan’s exclusion.
A BCCI official told PTI that Bairstow and Malan will not be a part of the IPL which resumes from September 19. The Guardian reports on Vox’s unavailability.
“They will not be on the flight to the UAE. One of the reasons for their withdrawal is the six-day quarantine they were not required to do earlier,” the official said.
While Bairstow is a regular in the Sunrisers line-up, Malan, the world number one T20 batsman, made his IPL debut with the Kings earlier this year. Aiden Markram has been included in the team in his place.
Punjab Kings tweeted, “Malan will take some time out to be with his family ahead of T20 World Cup and Ashes.”
Bairstow had scored 248 runs in seven matches at the start of this season at a strike rate of over 141.
Bairstow, Woakes and Malan were part of the England Test team in Manchester.
Bubble life has taken a toll on the players and with the T20 World Cup to be held in the United Arab Emirates, not playing the IPL will give Bairstow, Woakes and Malan more family time.
All three are also part of England’s Ashes plans, but currently a tour of Down Under is also in doubt as Australia imposes some of the harshest restrictions in the world on travelers arriving in the post-COVID times.
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