The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday decided to resume the IPL season across six venues from May 17 with the final slated for June 3 as per the revised schedule.
The IPL was halted on May 8 after the match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals was called off after Pakistan tried to invade Indian air space near Chandigarh, forcing a blackout at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala.
However, the board officials decided for a quick resumption of the league, following India and Pakistan agreeing to a ceasefire in their border conflict.
“BCCI is pleased to announce the resumption of the TATA IPL 2025. After extensive consultations with government and security agencies, and with all the key stakeholders, the Board has decided to proceed with the remainder of the season,” the board said in a statement.
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The first match upon the resumption of the league will be between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders in Bengaluru on May 17.
The six venues for league matches as per the revised schedule will be: Bengaluru, Jaipur, Delhi, Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
The venues for the playoff matches will be announced at a later date.
However, the dates of the playoff matches have been announced and as per the schedule, Qualifier 1 will be held on May 29 followed by the Eliminator on May 30.
The Qualifier 2 will be played on June 1, to be followed by the title match two days later.
A total of 17 matches will be played across six venues and the revised schedule includes two double-headers, which will be played on two Sundays.
Foreign players availability
Several foreign players contracted with the IPL franchises left for their respective home countries and some were in transit, after the league was suspended.
Now, the teams will have to reassemble them, at least as many as possible, before May 17. However, some players might stay back, particularly those with some niggles.
The comeback plans of Australia’s pacer Josh Hazlewood, who plays for RCB, might get affected by a shoulder niggle that forced him to sit out of the home game against Chennai Super Kings.
However, it remains to be seen how many Aussie and South African Test regulars return to the league considering the probability of them featuring in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s, starting from June 11.
Pat Cummins (SRH), Kagiso Rabada (GT) etc are some of the names who are frontline Test players of Australia and South Africa respectively.
Clash with India A tour to England
The revised IPL dates also clash with the scheduled India A tour to England where they will face the Lions in two four-day matches from May 30 and June 6.
Some of the first-choice Test players and contenders are expected to get picked in the India A squad ahead of the senior team’s tour to England, beginning on June 20.
It remains to be seen how the BCCI will address this as the India A squad will be announced in a day or two.
