While the 16th edition of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to begin on May 31, many players are still unsure if they will join their respective franchises on time or not owing to injury concerns and recuperations.
According to reports, adding headache to the injury list, IPL 2023 has also witnessed some foreign players’ unavailabilitydue to their respective countries’ packed schedule. So, some of them are slated to miss initial stages of IPL as they will be donning national jerseys. However, there have been reports that state that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to restrict Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi players from playing in the IPL going forward.
Like previously, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has scheduled games for their national team. Due to their national commitments, their availability will be restricted and the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, and Mushfiqur Rahim will beavailable from April 9 to May 5, and then from May 15 onwards. On the other hand, four Sri Lankan players—WaninduHasaranga, MatheeshaPathirana, BhanukaRajapaksa, and MaheeshTheekshana will miss the first week of the tournament, as they will be representing Sri Lankain New Zealand.
“Franchises would be sceptical about picking players from certain countries if they are here to play the tournament partly,” a BCCI official said.
Following this issue, a franchise official said, “It is what it is. We can’t complain because it’s the BCCI that negotiates with other boards. But of course, franchises will be sceptical about picking players from certain countries.
