"It's certainly not the preferred thing"- Kane Williamson on missing England series due to IPL

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said missing the Test series against England due to the IPL will not be the 'preferred thing'.

It is not yet confirmed whether there will be a direct clash between IPL and the two-match series between England and New Zealand.

The two Tests start on June 2 and 10 at Lord's and Edgbaston respectively. And if reports are to be believed, IPL could well be in its knockout stage around that time.

The matter is complicated further by the bubble restrictions in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, players might not be allowed to leave or join their national squads immediately.

Kane Williamson said he will have to wait and see how things pan out before taking a concrete decision.

"It's certainly not the preferred thing. I know when plans were put in place, that wasn't the idea then, but as we've seen, you can make plans in this day in age and very rarely do they go to plan. For us, it's being able to adapt as quickly as possible, we still have to wait and see when dates are finalised to truly know what is happening before any decision is made, but the ideal scenario is to be available and around for all that cricket. We'll just have to wait and see," Kane Williamson said.

Last night's @IPL auction through the eyes of BLACKCAP and now @RCBTweets player Kyle Jamieson ✍🏽 #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/Sep2bBB2LO

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 19, 2021

Kane Williamson will once again represent Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.

Other key Kiwi players who will be part of the IPL are Trent Boult (Mumbai Indians), Kyle Jamieson (Royal Challengers Bangalore), and Lockie Ferguson (Kolkata Knight Riders).

The official schedule for the IPL is yet to be released.

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Kane Williamson-led New Zealand are in the WTC final

Kane Williamson recently led New Zealand to a 2-0 Test series win over Pakistan.

The Blackcaps have already secured their spot in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final, which will be played at Lord's.

The ongoing series between India-England will decide whom the Kiwis will face in the final, which is sch starts on June 22.

Australia are also in the mix to make the final. If the ongoing series ends in a draw or England win it 2-1, the Australians will be through.

India need to win the series either 2-1 or 3-1 to book their spot in the final against the Kiwis.

For Joe Root's England, their task is cut out. They will need to win both the upcoming Tests to secure a place in the WTC final.

The third Test between India and England starts on 24 February in Ahmedabad. The series is currently tied at 1-1.

Snapshots from #TeamIndia's training session at the Motera ahead of the pink-ball Test.@Paytm #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/RTWxUVVNla

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 20, 2021