IPL 2025 Restart: BCCI reportedly pushing foreign boards as overseas players remain uncertain over returning to India

The BCCI unveiled an updated schedule for the remaining matches of the 2025 Indian Premier League on Monday, three days after suspending the ongoing season due to a military conflict between India and Pakistan. The remainder of the season gets underway on Saturday, 17 May with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru – the two teams that had faced off in the season opener at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens – set to lock horns at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

As per the revised IPL schedule, the playoffs get underway from 29 May with the final taking place on 3 June – on a Tuesday instead of the weekend. Additionally, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Delhi and Lucknow have been assigned hosting duties for the remaining league matches of the season, with the BCCI set to take a call on the venues for the playoffs.

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BCCI using its influence to try and get foreign players back for matches

The key issue that the board and the franchises have been sweating over the past few days is the participation of overseas players in the remainder of the season. The return of several key players appears doubtful, due to the packed international calendar that lies ahead as well as the fear of India and Pakistan attacking each other again after agreeing to a ceasefire on Saturday.

Among the big names whose participation in the remaining matches of the season appears doubtful are Australian pacers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who represent Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru respectively.

Australia, after all, will be facing South Africa in the final of the ICC World Test Championship at Lord’s starting 11 June – eight days after the IPL final – meaning the availability of key South African players also appears doubtful. England, meanwhile, face West Indies in a three-match ODI series between 29 May and 3 June, the same time as the playoffs in the revised schedule.

Also Read | IPL 2025: Why Australian players unwilling to come back for restart is no surprise

The BCCI, however, is reportedly using its considerable influence in the cricketing world to try and ensure foreign boards co-operate with them and allow their players to participate in the remaining matches of the season.

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According to the Press Trust of India, IPL Chief Operating Officer Hemang Amin has been instructed by the BCCI top brass to reach out to Cricket Australia (CA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in order to assure them of India being safe to play cricket in again. CA reportedly has left it to their players to decide whether to return to India for the remaining IPL matches or not.

“We have been speaking to the foreign boards individually while teams are directly dealing with their players. We expect majority of them to return,” a BCCI official was quoted by PTI as saying.

‘Now the situation has got better, the players should return’

The ongoing season had been placed on a week-long suspension on Friday, a day after the rain-affected game between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala was called off shortly after the former opted to bat.

This was after the Pakistan retaliated against the Indian armed forces ‘Operation Sindoor’ by targeting civilian areas in several towns located close to the international border, including Pathankot in Punjab that is 90 kilometres away from Dharamsala.

The PBKS and DC players, support staff and their family members along with members of the broadcast team were escorted to Delhi from the hill station in Himachal Pradesh by bus and later by a special Vande Bharat train arranged by the BCCI and Indian Railways.

“The foreign players were scared at that time, and understandably so. The BCCI showed that the safety of the players is paramount by ensuring they all got back home safely.

“Now the situation has got better, the players should return. However, some of them still remain on the edge,” an IPL official was quoted by the agency as saying.