IPL 2021: Pull-out hit Rajasthan Royals approach other teams to loan players for rest of the league

The IPL loan window started on Monday (April 26) and will end with the conclusion of the league stage. IPL rules state that a player who have played less than two matches in the season can be loaned and cannot play against his home franchise.

Rajasthan Royals think-tank Kumar Sangakkara (right) and Trevor Penney (left) with David Miller. (Photo: IPL)

Rajasthan Royals have approached fellow Indian Premier League (IPL) teams to loan players after the departure of their four foreign players due to various reasons that include injuries, bubble fatigue and COVID-19 fear. Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer are out of the IPL due to injuries while Liam Livingstone had gone back home citing bubble fatigue.

On Sunday, Andrew Tye left for Australia, citing fear due to surge of COVID-19 cases in India, making Royals the worst affected team from player pull-outs. “The team is looking to loan players and has written to other franchisees but nothing is decided at this point,” a source close to the team management told news agency PTI.

The IPL loan window started on Monday (April 26) and will end with the conclusion of the league stage. Tye, who had not played a game this season, flew back home on Sunday fearing being locked out of his own country with India reporting record COVID-19 infections for the past few days.

IPL rules state that a player who have played less than two matches in the season can be loaned and cannot play against his home franchise. Rajasthan Royals have two wins from five games and play their next game in Delhi on Thursday.

Meanwhile, South African allrounder Chris Morris, who guided Rajasthan Royals (RR) to a six-wicket victory against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) game last Saturday, says his favourite players in world cricket are Sanju Samson and Hardik Pandya.

Speaking to the programme host Sanju Samson – who incidentally is his skipper at RR – Morris said, “Sanju is my favourite No. 1 player, obviously because I’ve watched him for a long time now and watched him develop into the man and the player he is today, but I really enjoy Hardik (Pandya) play. I think, he’s a showstopper – he is prime time.”