AAGENCY
NEW DELHI, May 11
As the BCCI plans to try and resume IPL 2025, questions remain over whether a number of Australia and South Africa players will return for the remainder of the season, with the World Test Championship (WTC) final due to begin on June 11 at Lord’s.
The IPL was suspended on May 9 for one week following escalation in cross-border tension between India and Pakistan, but the announcement of a ceasefire on May 10 evening raised the possibility of the league resuming soon. “The BCCI is closely monitoring the evolving situation and developments, and will take a call on IPL resumption after consulting all stakeholders and the concerned government authorities,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said. “In the next days, we will begin consultations with the franchises, broadcasters, sponsors and state associations slated to host the remaining matches… Given the importance of IPL at this juncture, it will also be prudent and necessary to take the nod of the government of India before finalising the time for its restart. BCCI will duly announce the date of IPL restart once the whole process is over in due course of time.”
Thirteen league matches – including the one that was abandoned mid-way in the first innings – remain in the league phase of IPL 2025 before the four playoff fixtures. The final was scheduled to be held in Kolkata on May 25. Once the IPL was suspended temporarily on Friday, several overseas players and coaching staff left India in the next 24 hours, and a challenge facing all teams is to get them back if the BCCI decides to resume the tournament in the next week. There are doubts over whether Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Josh Hazlewood will return; a shoulder niggle had ruled him out of RCB’s previous home fixture against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on May 3. He was a doubtful starter for RCB’s next match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on May 9 before the tournament was suspended, and he may have missed the remainder of the season even if the tournament had not been interrupted. Hazlewood had said earlier in the season that he had continued a rehab programme during IPL 2025, having returned to fitness from a calf injury and side strain that forced him to miss parts of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (December-January), the Test tour to Sri Lanka, and the Champions Trophy (February-March). ESPNcricinfo understands Cricket Australia (CA) isn’t concerned by his injury and he is expected to be picked in the Test squad that will have a conditioning camp in the UK in the first week of June ahead of the WTC final. Australia’s Test captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Travis Head will also have decisions to make on returning to India should the IPL resume, keeping in mind the WTC final. While Cummins and Head have just three league games remaining with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) already out of contention for the playoffs, Starc’s team – Delhi Capitals (DC) – are still in the race in fifth place at the moment.
Starc was among a large contingent of players who travelled by road and train from Dharamsala to Delhi after the match between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and DC was abandoned on May 8.
Almost all of the New Zealand players, apart from Mitchell Santner and Bevon Jacobs, have returned home from the IPL too. Santner and Jacobs, who play for Mumbai Indians (MI), agreed to a request to stay on, according to Health Mills, chief of the New Zealand Cricket Players Association, on RNZ Sport.
The participation of South Africa’s players for the remainder of the IPL – should it resume – will be decided at a Cricket South Africa board meeting on Sunday. As of now, the NOCs to players had been issued until May 25, with the board stating that safety and security of players was non-negotiable.
South Africa are scheduled to play Zimbabwe in a warm-up fixture in the first week of June as part of their build-up to the WTC final.
