Starc, Hazlewood doubtful as BCCI, franchises face uncertainty over getting foreign players back for IPL restart

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to get the 18th season of the Indian Premier League back on track after suspending it for a week due to hostilities between India and Pakistan. The BCCI had decided to suspend the IPL for one week on Friday, a day after the Punjab Kings-Delhi Capitals match at Dharamsala’s HPCA Stadium had to be called off midway due to security concerns.

The ceasefire agreement between the two nations on Saturday has since given the board hope of restarting the league as soon as the week-long suspension comes to an end, even if the Pakistan armed forces violated the truce just hours later with drone attacks on Srinagar and targeting areas close to the international border in Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

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With calmness returning to Jammu and Kashmir and in other border states, the BCCI will be confident of restarting the IPL without much hassle and had conducted a meeting on Sunday, a day after the IPL, to discuss the revised schedule among other details.

There is one problem for the board and the franchises though – getting foreign players and officials back for the remainder of the season.

Starc, Hazlewood among key players unlikely to return for remaining IPL matches

Delhi Capitals’ Rs 11.75 crore signing Mitchell Starc and Royal Challengers Bengaluru pacer Josh Hazlewood, who is among the leading wicket-takers this season, are among the biggest names likely to sit out should the IPL restart later this week.

Both Starc and Hazlewood have returned home, as have several other overseas players and match officials, with the former refusing to talk to the press after landing at Sydney airport on Sunday, with his manager telling Australia’s Nine News that he might not be available for the remaining matches.

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Hazlewood, meanwhile, had sat out of RCB’s home game against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday, 3 May due to a shoulder niggle and Cricket Australia for one would want him to remain fully fit for the big match that lies ahead.

Australia and South Africa, after all, will be locking horns in the ICC World Test Championship final that takes place at the Lord’s Cricket Ground from 11 to 15 June, and players from both teams will have doubts about returning to the IPL. Especially since the final in the BCCI’s reported revised schedule – between 16 to 30 May – will leave them with just 10 days to recover and train for the final besides all the hectic travelling that will follow.

Australia captain Pat Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood’s colleague in the pace department, faces even more pressure as he captains the Sunrisers Hyderabad and his presence will be crucial for the franchise even if they have been eliminated from the playoffs race. Cummins’ SRH teammate Travis Head too has returned home and will have to take a call.

Participation of South African cricketers also remains doubtful since the NOC given to the players by Cricket South Africa (CSA) was till 25 May. Shukri Conrad, who succeeded Rob Walter as South Africa’s white-ball coach on Saturday to take charge of the team across formats, had recently stated that the Proteas would be prioritising international cricket over leagues going forward.

South Africa, additionally, play a warm-up match against Zimbabwe in the first week of June before the WTC final, making their IPL participation even more unlikely.

As for the New Zealand cricketers, nearly everyone apart from Mumbai Indians’ Mitchell Santner and Bevon Jacobs has returned home.