Cricket Australia (CA) is likely to come to its players’ rescue if they don’t go back to India to complete the rest of the IPL. After a few days of escalating tensions at the border between India and Pakistan, a ceasefire was achieved and the BCCI has swiftly moved into planning for rescheduling.
There are talks of IPL 2025 resuming operations this week itself, however, the teams might be without their key overseas players for the remainder of the season. Josh Hazlewood, who had suffered a shoulder niggle, missed the game against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), while Mitchell Starc, as per a report by News Nine, may not return as communicated by his manager after he returned to Australia with his wife Alyssa Healy.
South African and Australian players are increasingly likely to refuse to return for the remaining part of the season, with less than a month to go for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Apart from Ricky Ponting and Brad Haddin, who are part of the coaching staff for the Punjab Kings, all the Australian players and coaches including Mike Hussey and Justin Langer returned home following sudden suspension of the IPL.
Given the situation in which the tournament was halted, with the cross-border tensions escalating between India and Pakistan, several players will be reluctant to return even if their respective franchises insist. The refusal of players to oblige their contracts despite no injuries could attract a ban for the overseas players as per the new regulations from the BCCI from the 2025 edition onwards, however, Cricket Australia (CA) is committed to protect their players’ rights in this case, given they returned home in extraordinary circumstances.
As per The Age, CA will defend the players and let them take the call themselves after spending a couple of anxious days and nights with the uncertainty of the conflict, which at one point didn’t look like stopping anytime soon.
The decision was taken after the PBKS vs DC clash in Dharamsala was abandoned midway through, with several northern towns near the border, including Jammu, Amritsar, Pathankot, Hoshiyarpur and Srinagar observing blackouts after several drones were spotted in Jammu.
The BCCI is planning to complete the rest of the season by May 30, with increase in double-headers and reduction in travel with the remaining 16 matches being concised to just three venues.
