BCCI Eyes Quick IPL 2025 Restart Without Pressuring Australian Cricketers

With the IPL 2025 planning to kick off again on May 16, some teams are sweating bullets about their Aussie players. Cricket Australia is totally backing them if they don't want to go back to India to finish their deals with the league. And it seems like Delhi Capitals' Mitchell Starc is thinking about sitting out the rest of the games.

 

So, out of the 14 Aussies who were set to play in IPL 2025, we've got one, Mitchell Owen, who hasn't even started yet. And poor Adam Zampa had to leave because he got hurt bad enough to be done for the season. Glenn Maxwell might be out too, because of an injury. The newspaper The Age says if these guys went home, they won't be told to come back. But here's the kicker, the BCCI might put a two-year no-play ban on foreign players who bail on their commitments.

 

The India-Pakistan beef really messed up the league's flow this year, you know? Right in the middle of the season, a game between PBKS and DC in Dharamsala had to be called off 'cause the whole place went dark, like nobody paid the electric bill or something. Crazy, right? And then, because the airports up north were closed, they had to get all the foreign players out of there on a train, like we're back in the 1800s or something.

 

Australians in IPL 2025:

 

• Chennai Super Kings: Nathan Ellis
• Delhi Capitals: Mitchell Starc, Jake Fraser-McGurk
• Kolkata Knight Riders: Spencer Johnson
• Lucknow Super Giants: Mitch Marsh
• Punjab Kings: Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell (Ruled out), Mitch Owen (Yet to join), Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Xavier Bartlett
• Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Josh Hazlewood, Tim David
• Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Adam Zampa (Ruled out)

 

So now, the BCCI's trying to sort out a new schedule to finish IPL 2025 by May 25. They're crossing their fingers the government gives them the green light. But, if they can't, it might drag on till May 30. We've got 13 games left to go, and they're hoping to squeeze in that PBKS vs DC game that never happened.

 

Now, if they push the dates back further, it's gonna be a bummer for the Aussie players. They've got this deal with Cricket Australia that lets them play in the IPL only till May 25. So, if the league goes beyond that, they'll have to ask for new permission. And who knows if they'll get it, right? It's like asking your parents for a later curfew after you've already missed it a couple of times.

 

Adding to the whole mess is this big deal WTC Final coming up in 2025. Australia's got a match with South Africa on June 11, so the plan was for the Aussie players to head home by June 6 and then jet off to England. But if the IPL keeps going past May 25, most of our Australian Test guys might just say, "Nah, not worth it." Playing 17 games in just 10 days? That's a recipe for exhaustion and maybe even some ouchies, and nobody wants to deal with that right before the WTC Final, right?

 

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And let's talk about Pat Cummins, the main man of Sunrisers Hyderabad. We're still in the dark about when he'll be back. But his fast-bowling buddies Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood? They're probably not coming back either. Starc, who's like the VIP in Australia's bowling lineup for the WTC Final, has basically said, "I'm out if you keep this IPL going." And Hazlewood, poor guy, has been dealing with a bum shoulder. He missed RCB's last game, and now that he's back home, it's looking pretty grim for his comeback.

 

The good news is, there's a decent shot the IPL will wrap up by May 25 because India A is set to play a bunch of red-ball games in England starting May 30. So, let's keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't drag on too long, yeah?