As the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) readies the plan for resumption of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, the franchises are working out the return of overseas players. As TimesofIndia.com had reported on Sunday,
Gujarat Titans became the first team to start training and more teams are likely to follow suit in the coming days. Seven teams are still in the race for a playoffs spot with only Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad
out of contention.
Of the teams still alive, many managed to keep their overseas players in India but few of them could be in for some trouble during the business end of the tournament. It is understood that Mitchell Starc has had a discussion with the Delhi Capitals management regarding his travel plan and a report claims Josh Hazlewood's shoulder injury has put him in doubt for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Mumbai Indians (MI), Gujarat Titans (GT), Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) look in a settled space and there is no clarity yet on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) roster.
While the franchises acknowledge the circumstances, they still want their best personnel in the middle as race for the knockouts heats up. Efforts are underway to find solutions, keeping the individual player's international commitments in mind, but the franchises are not following an overbearing approach. The situation, however, is not the same for some teams who are just looking at completing the tournament.
"Why would a CSK, RR or even SRH push for their overseas players' return? What will they achieve out of it? They could well ask them to stay where they are and use the resources at their disposal or maybe test the bench strength. Makes no sense to take so much hassle. Even the teams who are in contention, they can only push their overseas players to a certain limit. The situation wasn't in anyone's hands. The circumstances forced everything," explained a well-placed source.
Are we looking at a business end with few teams with a depleted squad? Could well be the case but the franchises are still waiting for an official directive from the Indian cricket board.
There have been a lot of verbal communications between the BCCI and the franchises in the last couple of days but a detailed directive - featuring schedule and venues - is likely to come either today or tomorrow. As TimesofIndia.com had reported last week, efforts are underway to resume the league at the earliest with Thursday night the first window.
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