The official season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will run from March 22 to the end of May, according to a decision made by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Due to the country’s impending general elections in the summer, the precise dates have not yet been decided upon; the schedule is dependent on the election calendar.
According to the information provided to the teams before Tuesday, December 19, at the Indian Premier League auction in Dubai, the boards of Australia, South Africa, Afghanistan, New Zealand, and the West Indies have made all of their players accessible, with very few or no riders. Boards in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, England, and Ireland have, nevertheless, granted conditional approval.
All Australian players except Josh Hazlewood, who will play in the league starting in the first week of May, will be available for the IPL. The BCCI has been notified by Cricket Australia (CA) that all of its players—aside from Hazlewood and those participating in the Sheffield Shield final—will be available. Unless they are injured, all players will be accessible, the BCCI has been informed by the CA. Players can choose to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) instead of the local competition in the Sheffield Shield final, which is scheduled for March 21–25.
Players from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are permitted to play in the league unless they are unable to do so or have international commitments. The English players’ availability is contingent upon the finalization of the ECB’s summer international program in conjunction with the Twenty20 World Cup. Rehan Ahmed has pulled out of the auction. The Twenty20 World Cup takes place in the US and the Caribbean from June 4 to June 30.
“ECB is prepared to make their players available for the duration of the Tournament, subject to fitness and international duty, as well as any periods of unavailability that players submitted on their auction applications,” reads the BCCI’s message to the teams regarding the status of the English player. Rob Key will communicate personally with each player and his team to make the required arrangements if any individual players need special management in the lead-up to the World T20, which the ECB is now preparing their calendar for in June.”
Joshua Little and Mustafizur Rahman have been given special licenses to use their players, while the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and Cricket Ireland (CI) have only partially made their players available elsewhere. The BCB has stated that Rahman can play in the league from March 22 to May 11, even though the Ireland pacer is allowed to engage in it to the fullest extent.
There are concerns regarding the availability of several Sri Lankan players for the country’s second and final Test match against Bangladesh, which is slated to take place from March 30 to April 3. Nevertheless, because they do not take part in the Test format, Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Matheesha Pathirana, and Dushmantha Chameera will be available for the entire IPL season.
In addition, the BCB notified the BCCI that “Taskin Ahmed and Md. Shoriful Islam, who has been listed for the auction, will not be available for the IPL 2024 edition.” Rahman was one of just three Bangladeshi players that appeared in the auction registration.
The BCCI has received notification from the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), Cricket West Indies (CWI), Cricket South Africa (CSA), New Zealand Cricket (NZC), and Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) that their players will be available for the whole IPL season.