'Lives, safety most important thing, not IPL pay cheques': Mitchell Johnson shares opinion on returning to India

Former Australian cricketer Mitchell Johnson feels no cricketer should be forced to return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The IPL 2025, which was halted last week due to the India-Pakistan conflict, is set to resume from 17 May.

A number of overseas players, however, are reluctant to return to India for the IPL due to security concerns. Australia’s Jake Fraser-McGurk, who is part of the Delhi Capitals side, has already pulled out , while DC’s Mitchell Starc is also expected to miss the remaining matches.

As IPL sides struggle to regroup the overseas players after the unexpected break, the BCCI has reportedly been busy negotiating with other cricket boards to send their players for the IPL 2025 season.

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‘Lives and safety more important than IPL pay cheques’

Former pacer Johnson, who played in IPL between 2013 and 2018, feels no one should be coerced to return to the league and IPL and Pakistan Super League (PSL), which were also suspended during the conflict, must be completed in another window.

“If I had to make a call whether to head back to India and finish the tournament, it would be an easy decision. It’s a no from me,” Johnson wrote in his column for The Nightly.

“Lives and safety are the most important thing, not pay cheques. It’s a personal decision. No one should be coerced or feel pressured into going back, even if the IPL and Pakistan Super League, which has also been halted, push hard for it. Both tournaments should just end now or consider moving, which then becomes a huge financial issue.”

Australian and South African first-choice players are facing the biggest problem with the shifting of the IPL 2025 matches. The final will now take place on 3 June instead of 25 May. The IPL final will take place just a few days before the World Test Championship final, which will start on 11 June at the Lord’s and will be played between Australia and South Africa.

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Meanwhile, the BCCI on Thursday reportedly told the IPL franchises to release the South African players, who are part of the Proteas squad for the ICC World Test Championship final, by 26 May, three days before the playoffs begin.