England batsman Dawid Malan admitted that the upcoming months have a tight schedule with the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, T20 World Cup and the Ashes, but star batsman “at the moment” is “committed” to play IPL.The 14th season, which was postponed in May this year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, will resume on September 19 in Dubai with a blockbuster clash between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. “It’s quite a tough schedule. The only guarantee we have at the moment is IPL – we don’t know if we’re going to the World Cup and we don’t know if we’re going to the Ashes, so it leaves us in quite a tough situation,” said Malan after the end of second day’s play of the ongoing third Test against India.
Malan, who plays for Punjab Kings in IPL, said the upcoming schedule leaves him in a tricky situation as he wants to play both T20 World Cup and the Ashes but isn’t sure whether he will be picked for the longest format in England squad.
“Say you give up the IPL and you don’t get picked for either of the England squads, then you’ve given up the IPL. Or if you go to the IPL and then you get selected after you’ve gone to the IPL then you’re sat in the bubble for five and a half months,” said Malan.
“So it’s a tricky situation. Hopefully, we can get some answers and we can find some time to get a rest out of these bubbles. “I think all possibilities are open, at the moment I have committed to the IPL, nothing will change at the moment and if things do change maybe we can reassess but at the moment I have committed to the IPL,” he added.
England captain Joe Root completed his 23rd Test ton while Malan hit a fifty as the hosts gained full command against India on Day 2 of the ongoing third Test. Talking about the pitch, Malan said, “The wicket changed massively from the first day the first hour when they were batting.
I would not say they were flat with their bowling, they ran in really hard. They asked a lot of questions and probably didn’t get that much help from this wicket as much.”