While the BCCI plans to resume IPL 2025 following a temporary suspension due to cross -border tensions, the royal benggaluru Challengers (RCB) could be forced to finish the season without their first Josh Hazlewood. The Australian fast launcher, who was already breastfeeding a little shoulder, had missed the shock of RCB’s house against Chennai Super Kings on May 3 and was uncertain for their next match before the tournament stop on May 9. Now, with the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) on the horizon, his return to India for the IPL seems in a way so.
Hazlewood, who had undergone a rigorous rehabilitation earlier this year to recover from a series of injuries, including a secondary tension and a veal problem, used IPL as a platform to find the pace.
Despite his progress, Cricket Australia should adopt a cautious approach. With a pre-WTC final packaging camp scheduled in England in early June, its inclusion in the test squad is quasi-certainty, and a return to IPL seems useless.
He is not the only Australian cricket player whose IPL participation is in question. Pat Cummins and Travis Head, whose Sunrisers Hyderabad team is already absent from the playoffs, could choose to stay in Australia to prepare for the WTC final in Lord’s on June 11. Mitchell Starc, playing for Delhi capitals in fifth row, can face a more delicate decision, balancing the team’s commitments with the national service.
Adding to uncertainty is the logistical challenge to bring players abroad and support staff who left India within 24 hours of suspension.
Most of the New Zealand quota has already returned home, while African cricket has still decided to decide whether its players can extend their stay beyond the deadline of May 25. The CSA card should deliberate this on Sunday, the safety of the players being essential.
For teams like RCB, this disturbance has brought both complications and a silver lining. Captain Rajat Patidar, who suffered an injury to the finger during the establishment of CSK, was about to miss two games. The unexpected break has now given him a precious window for recovery. RCB manages its conservative rehabilitation, looking at its availability for the playoffs and potentially the next India a tour in England.
(With the exception of the title, this story has not been published by NDTV staff and is published from a unionized flow.)
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