The India-Pakistan conflict has triggered a mixed response from overseas players in the IPL, creating uncertainty about their return for the rest of the tournament. While some coaches, like Ricky Ponting, are staying put, a significant number of players, spooked by security concerns, have already flown home.On Saturday evening, Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting had boarded the flight from New Delhi when he heard the announcement of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!"Kudos to Ricky. He was going home. He even boarded the flight, but the moment we sent him the message that a ceasefire has been announced, he returned. Brad Haddin (assistant coach) is also in," PBKS CEO Satish Menon told TimesofIndia.com.
However, PBKS' Australian contingent, including Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis, and Xavier Bartlett, has returned home. After the Dharamsala fixture between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals was halted midway due to security reasons, panic gripped the overseas players of all teams.
Who's that IPL player?PBKS are in the race to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2014, and the franchise is hopeful that they will have a full-strength team once the IPL restarts. Punjab Kings are currently placed third with 15 points.
"Our boys will return. Ricky and Brad have set an example. We are waiting for official instruction from the BCCI, and then only will we reach out to our players," said Menon.
It has been reliably learnt that the BCCI and the IPL Governing Council have verbally asked the franchises to assemble their squads for the remaining 16 games, which are likely to start by Friday (May 16).
TimesofIndia.com has also learned that a top overseas player with the Delhi Capitals has refused to come back. "The kitbags of all the cricketers are here in India only. Let's wait and see what happens," said a DC official.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), who mathematically are still in the race for the playoffs, have most of their players in India. The Caribbean duo Nicholas Pooran and Shamar Joseph, who were due to head home on Sunday morning, have been asked to stay back.
"We have most of our players here. We have been told by the BCCI that we'll get a clearer picture by Monday," said an LSG official.
Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) CEO Kasi Viswanathan said that all of their players, be it domestic or overseas, have dispersed. "All of them have reached home now," Kasi told TimesofIndia.com.
"We are yet to receive any instruction from the BCCI. Once the official guidelines are shared, then we'll reach out to our players," he said.
When coaxed about whether the overseas players are keen to return, Kasi said, "Too early to say anything. It has been crazy few days. Just wait for a couple more days; hopefully, we all will get a clearer picture."
Rajasthan Royals, who are in ninth place, and out of contention, are confident that their overseas players will return to complete the tournament.
"We are not facing any issue with our overseas contingent. We are anyway out of the playoffs race, so I don't see we will have a problem assembling our squad," said a Royals official.