IPL 2025: Overlap with international schedule could impact remaining matches
What's the story
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the resumption of IPL 2025. The league will resume on May 17 across six venues, starting with Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders. The final is scheduled for June 3. The decision comes after India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire, leading to the previous suspension of the season on May 8. Meanwhile, here we look at how the international games could impact the remaining IPL season.
Resumption details
IPL 2025: Revised schedule and venues
The BCCI has confirmed that IPL 2025 will resume after extensive consultations with government and security agencies. The matches will be played at six venues: Bengaluru, Jaipur, Delhi, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai. The playoff venues are yet to be announced. The playoff schedule includes Qualifier 1 on May 29 followed by the Eliminator on May 30. Qualifier 2 is set for June 1 leading up to the final on June 3.
Series
ENG-WI series starts of May 29
Meanwhille, the white-ball series between West Indies and England, which gets underway on May 29, may impact the availability of players from these two international teams. Jos Buttler (Gujarat Titans), Philip Salt (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Jacob Bethell (RCB), Will Jacks (Mumbai Indians), and Romario Shepherd (RCB) are among the key players who might land in the country vs franchise dilemma as their teams are likely to qualify for playoffs.
WTC
WTC final gets underway on June 11
Though the ICC World Test Championship final between Australia and South Africa gets underway on June 11, boards of both teams might restrict their players' participation in the remainder of the IPL season to avoid any fitness concerns. This could impact the availability of likely playoff-bound players like Mitchell Starc (Delhi Capitals), Tristan Stubbs (DC), Ryan Rickelton (MI), Josh Hazlewood (RCB), Marco Jansen (Punjab Kings), Kagiso Rabada (GT), Josh Inglis (PBKS), and Aiden Markram (Lucknow Super Giants).
Scheduling conflict
IPL 2025: Overlap with international cricket calendar
The resumption of IPL 2025 has also created a scheduling conflict with India A's tour to England. They are slated to play two four-day matches against the Lions from May 30 and June 6. This overlap could prove to be a challenge as several top Test players and contenders are likely to be picked in the India A squad. This is especially important as it precedes the senior team's England tour starting June 20.