SYDNEY: Cricket Australia is working with the government and the Indian board on security arrangements with several players set to make a decision on whether to return to the Indian Premier League when it resumes this week, the governing body said on Tuesday.
The Twenty20 tournament was suspended last Friday amid the worst fighting between India and Pakistan in nearly three decades before a ceasefire was reached over the weekend.
India’s board (BCCI) said on Monday the remaining 17 games would resume on May 17 with the final rescheduled for June 3.
That would leave some Australian players, such as captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Inglis and Travis Head, with a quick turnaround for their World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s that begins eight days later.
“Following the announcement that the Indian Premier League will resume on Saturday, Cricket Australia will support players in their individual decisions whether to return to India or not,” Cricket Australia said in a statement.
“Team management will work through preparation implications for the WTC final for those players who choose to play in the remaining IPL matches. We are maintaining communication with the Australian government and BCCI around security arrangements and safety.”
Hazlewood plays for second-placed Royal Challengers Bengaluru who will host defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday in the first match of the resumed tournament.
Starc plays for Delhi Capitals, who can still make the playoffs, but Cummin and Head play for Sunrisers Hyderabad, who are already out of contention.
Cummins, fellow quick bowlers Hazlewood and Starc, and Head were all named on Tuesday in Australia’s squad for the WTC final and subsequent tour of the West Indies.
Cummins (ankle) and Hazlewood (hip and calf) missed Australia’s most recent Test series in Sri Lanka because of injury but both successfully returned to action in the IPL.
Hazlewood has taken 18 wickets to be third on the IPL bowling charts since coming back from injury. But he sat out Bengaluru’s last match 10 days ago with a shoulder niggle.
Australia also named Cameron Green in their 15-man squad; the all-rounder returning to the squad for the first time since undergoing back surgery in October last year.
Green is already in England, on a five-match county stint for Gloucestershire, where he has been playing as a batsman only and scored a century in his first game back after surgery.
“We are fortunate and looking forward to having Pat, Josh and Cam back in the squad,” chief selector George Bailey said. “The team finished the WTC cycle with an impressive series victory in Sri Lanka following an equally strong summer in defeating India for the first time in a decade.
“Those series capped a consistent performance across the two-year cycle and now presents us with the incredibly exciting opportunity to defend the WTC. It means a lot to the group to reach the final and they’re very much looking forward to the challenge South Africa will present at Lord’s.”
Cummins’ side could become the first to retain the WTC when they face South Africa at Lord’s from June 11, having beaten India in the previous final at the Oval in 2023.
The same squad will fly on to the West Indies for three Tests in Barbados, Grenada and Jamaica from June 25. A squad for the five Twenty20 internationals that follow will be named at a later date.
Squad: Pat Cummins (capt), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.
Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2025