Cricket Australia issues NOCs to its players for second leg of IPL 2021

The reason behind this move is seen as a preparation for the T20 World Cup in UAE later in the year, especially after Australia's ODI series against Afghanistan has been postponed. 

"It will be the second successive season in which players such as David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis have missed the opening rounds of Australia's domestic competitions to participate in the lucrative domestic T20 tournament," said a report by cricket.com.au. 

This year's edition of the IPL was stopped after May 2 due to a catastrophic second wave of COVID-19 in India breaching the bio-bubbles in Ahmedabad and New Delhi. About 40 Australian players, coaches, broadcasters and support staff had to spend 14 days in Maldives as Australia shut its international borders, before eventually returning via a charter flight provided by the BCCI. 

In July, it was announced by BCCI that the remaining matches of the IPL will be played in UAE from September 19 to October 15. The IPL will be wrapped up just two days before the start of the men's T20 World Cup, also relocated from India due to COVID-19 concerns. 

Seven of the eight players who opted out of Australia's white-ball tours to West Indies and Bangladesh -- Warner, Maxwell, Smith, Stoinis, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson and Daniel Sams -- are now expected to return for the IPL. Pat Cummins may give the second leg of the IPL a miss due to the birth of his first child but is expected to take part in the T20 World Cup. 

Riley Meredith, Dan Christian, Moises Henriques and Jason Behrendorff were in India for the first part of the IPL. Adam Zampa and Andrew Tye took part but left early due to fears caused by COVID-19. 

Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh and Josh Philippe, who had withdrawn from the tournament, could also be in the mix though the franchises will have to take the calls. 

The second leg of IPL 2021 will start from September 19 with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on Chennai Super Kings in Dubai. Both teams have already reached their bases in Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively.