Road clear for Iyer and Natarajan for IPL return

Delhi Capitals' skipper Shreyas Iyer and Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer T Natarajan have been cleared to take part in the second leg of Indian Premier League (IPL) after BCCI allowed franchises to bring back players they had lost due to injuries or had replaced for personal reasons in the first half of the season.

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As per the rules, franchises can only retain one of the two - the player who was brought as a replacement or the original player, who missed the first leg due to injury. If the replacement players are not retained, they will be put in IPL’s registered pool of players. However, if the original player is released, then he will not be part of the registered pool.

"If in case any player who was injured or unavailable during the India leg of IPL 2021 and is now fit or available then the franchise which had taken a replacement player such previous unavailability, will need to elect one of them."

Iyer missed the first leg of IPL after suffering a shoulder injury during England’s tour of India. In his absence, Rishabh Pant was named the skipper of the side. Pant did exceptionally well as a leader as Delhi topped the points table with six wins in eight games before the tournament was postponed. It is understood that Iyer, along with Capitals' assistant coach Pravin Amre and trainer Rajnikanth Sivagnanam, arrived in Dubai on Saturday and will join the contingent after serving the mandatory quarantine.

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Meanwhile, for Natarajan, he was ruled out due to a knee injury and his return should bolster Sunrisers Hyderabad, who are placed at the bottom of the points table with one win in seven games.