Aussie players to be ‘supported’ if they return for IPL
Oliver Caffrey and Glenn Moore |
Cricket Australia will support “individual decisions” as players weigh up whether to return for the resumption of the Indian Premier League amid the backdrop of conflict.
After being suspended last Friday as military action between India and Pakistan ramped up, the IPL will restart on Saturday following the announcement of a ceasefire between the two countries.
Most Australians involved – players, coaching staff and commentators – left India and returned home over the weekend.
“Following the announcement that the IPL will resume on Saturday, Cricket Australia will support players in their individual decisions whether to return to India or not,” a CA spokesperson said.
“We are maintaining communication with the Australian Government and BCCI around security arrangements and safety.”
Australia women’s captain Alyssa Healy was in India with husband Mitchell Starc, who plays for the Delhi Capitals.
Starc was involved in a dramatic game in Dharamshala, close to the India-Pakistan border, last Thursday when a power outage forced the match to be cancelled.
“There was a lot of anxiety around the Australian group because we didn’t have a whole heap of information as to what was going on,” Healy told the Willow Talk podcast.
“That’s probably been the really interesting and probably the scariest part of this whole situation is the misinformation.
“Quite close to what’s being fought over, but we were assured everything was fine, ‘everything is OK.
“It’s miles away, the game will go ahead and everything will be fine.”
Due to the one-week pause, the IPL final has been pushed back to June 3, just eight days before Australia’s World Test Championship final against South Africa in London.
Chairman of selectors George Bailey will on Tuesday announce the squad for the WTC decider.
“Team management will work through preparation implications for the World Test Championship final for those players who choose to play in the remaining IPL matches,” a CA spokesperson added.
The decision about whether players return or not won’t be straight forward.
Players would be foregoing huge amounts of money should they not go back, and also risk hurting their chances of being selected by franchises in the future.
The general feeling is most players will finish the tournament, especially those who are first-choice players.
The match that will resume the tournament will be played between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders on May 17 in Bengaluru.
Josh Hazlewood plays for RCB, but has been nursing a shoulder injury and missed their most recent match.
Besides Hazlewood and Starc four other possible Australian WTC players are mainstays in IPL teams: Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Josh Inglis and Mitch Marsh
Cummins and Head play for Sunrisers Hyderabad who are out of play-off contention even though they have three matches remaining but Inglis’ Punjab Kings, Starc’s Delhi, and Marsh’s Lucknow Super Giants remain in the frame.
Other high-profile Australians involved include Justin Langer, coach at Lucknow, Punjab coach Ricky Ponting and assistant Brad Haddin, Chennai’s Mike Hussey, and commentators Matthew Hayden and Mel Jones.
Ponting and Haddin remained in India.
The Pakistan Super League, which includes David Warner among the participants, is also expected to announce a resumption imminently.
India and Pakistan have clashed since India struck multiple locations in Pakistan that it said were “terrorist camps”.
India say it was in retaliation for the deadly attack in its troubled region of Kashmir last month, in which it insists Pakistan was involved.
AAP
