Half a dozen English players have betrayed their respective IPL franchises, by backing out of the upcoming second leg of the tournament. 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.

As per InsideSport, one franchise official is upset with a member of his team pulling out as he had confirmed his availability for the season.  In fact, he has also requested for the travel arrangements to be made. However, the player changed his mind following the 5th Test's cancellation. “I spoke to our contracted player in England on Thursday evening and he confirmed his arrival to UAE on 15th Sep & also requested us to make arrangements for his partner who he said will be joining with him. We agreed for the same. And on Saturday, we were informed that he is not coming. Coaches, management all are very upset. This is completely unprofessional and against the spirit of our contracts. We have also written to BCCI about it," the official told InsideSport. There are still 10 England players who will land in UAE. The list is headed by Eoin Morgan, who will be leading Kolkata Knight Riders. The 2nd phase of IPL 2021 kicks off on September 19 with defending champions Mumbai Indians squaring off against Chennai Super Kings. The final will be played on October 15.