Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises have been granted permission to sign temporary replacement players for the remainder of the 2025 season, addressing issues arising from player unavailability after the suspension was lifted. Several international players are hesitant to return to the subcontinent and are likely to miss the season’s latter part due to scheduling clashes with national duties.
A number of England players, including Jos Buttler, Jacob Bethell, Liam Livingstone, and Jamie Overton, have been selected for England’s upcoming home ODI series against the West Indies, starting on May 29, the same day the IPL playoffs are set to begin.
Additionally, the participation of South African and Australian players remains uncertain due to the World Test Championship (WTC) Final in early June. Franchises will not be able to retain the temporary replacement players for the next auction and must release them back into the player pool once the 2025 season concludes.
Under current regulations, franchises are allowed to sign replacement players if a player withdraws or is injured, as long as the change occurs before the team’s 12th match of the league stage.
“Given the non-availability of certain foreign players due to national commitments or personal reasons or any injury or illness, Temporary Replacement Players will be allowed until the conclusion of this tournament,” the league said in a memo, according to a report by ESPN Cricinfo.
“This decision is subject to the condition that the Temporary Replacement players taken from this point forward will not be eligible for retention in the following year. Temporary Replacement players will have to register for the IPL Player Auction 2026,” the statement continued.
IPL 2025 Set to Resume on May 17 with RCB vs KKR Clash
IPL franchises will have a few days to finalize and confirm their temporary replacements, as the season is set to resume from May 17. The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
While the schedule for the rest of the season has been announced, the locations for the playoffs are still to be confirmed. The IPL 2025 final is now set to take place on June 3.
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