Cricket Australia’s decision to approve the tour for Pakistan has left some of the IPL franchises in an awkward position. The month-long tour was endorsed by CA on Friday (February 4), starting from March.
Cricket Australia after the security assessment has approved the tour for Pakistan which left some of the IPL franchises in an awkward position. The month-long tour was endorsed by CA on Friday (February 4), starting from March 4. This can force some of the top Australian players to miss a couple of games from the Indian Premier League (IPL), and the franchises are looking for answers.
It is to be noted that this will be Australia’s first tour of Pakistan in 24 years followed by three Test matches, three ODIs, and a single T20I, with the first Test match to start from March 4 at Rawalpindi cricket stadium.
The last match of the series will be played on April 5 in a T20 match in Rawalpindi, which means the Australian players can go back to play IPL on April 6.
According to the sources from IPL, the players will be able to play the league from April 11 as they are required to stay five days in quarantine.
“That is quite a late arrival. We will have to see who is all picked for the tour,”
said a franchise official.
Cricket Australia has not yet confirmed the squads for the Pakistan tour but the top Australians like Pat Cummins, David Warner, Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Josh Hazlewood have registered for the mega auction while the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis, who have been retained by the franchises. A total of 47 Australian players have made them available for the auction.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not officially stated the list of overseas players who will be available throughout the season. The availability of overseas players has raised many questions and franchises are looking for confirmation ahead of the February 12 and 13 auction.
As reported earlier, the full availability of England and New Zealand players is also in doubt as the two teams will be involved in a three-Test series that starts on June 2.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is expected to pull back some of its Test specialists from the IPL a little ahead of the series.
South Africa will also pull back some of its players from the league who are to be involved in a home series (three ODIs and two Tests) against Bangladesh and the last match of the bilateral engagement, a Test, ends on April 11.
Cricket South Africa has forwarded 33 names for the auction, while there are five from Bangladesh and 24 each from England and New Zealand.