IPL 2025 Restart: The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 is getting ready to return on May 17 after being paused due to rising tensions between India and Pakistan. The good news is, most of the overseas players are making their way back to join their teams. Only a few foreign cricketers, especially from Australia, might not return due to injury or other reasons.
Gujarat Titans
Gujarat Titans will get two big names back as Jos Buttler from England and Gerald Coetzee from South Africa are set to rejoin the team on Wednesday. They were the only GT foreign players who left India after the suspension. Gujarat, who are currently leading the table with 16 points, will play Delhi Capitals on May 18, followed by home games against Lucknow Super Giants on May 22 and Chennai Super Kings on May 25, reports NDTV.
KKR
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), last year’s champions, are also getting most of their overseas players back. Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, and Dwayne Bravo have been in Dubai and will fly to Bengaluru between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Their Afghan keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz will travel to Dubai from Kabul and join them.
Anrich Nortje of South Africa will fly in from the Maldives. KKR’s Indian players and staff are also returning on Wednesday. KKR have a slim chance of making it to the playoffs and will need to win both their remaining matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru to stay in the race.
SRH
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), who are already out of the playoffs, will still see the return of their Australian duo Pat Cummins and Travis Head. They are also part of Australia’s squad for the World Test Championship (WTC) final starting on June 11 at Lord’s. Pat’s manager confirmed, “Pat has a responsibility as captain of the franchise and is looking at returning.” However, it’s still unclear if other overseas SRH players like Heinrich Klaasen, Eshan Malinga, Kamindu Mendis, and Wiaan Mulder will return. SRH will wrap up their season with matches in Lucknow, Bengaluru, and Delhi.
PBKS
Punjab Kings (PBKS) are also in a strong position with 15 points from 11 games. Their players Xavier Bartlett, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Mitchell Owen have confirmed they will return. PBKS has not yet heard from key names like Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Josh Inglis, and Aaron Hardie. Jansen and Inglis were picked for the WTC final, so their availability is uncertain. PBKS will start training in Jaipur from Thursday ahead of their matches against Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, and Mumbai Indians. Coaches like Ricky Ponting and Brad Haddin have stayed in India through the break.
Australian Players’ Uncertainty Grows
Many Australian cricketers are unsure about returning. While Cummins and Head are set to play two more games before the WTC, others like Glenn Maxwell (PBKS) and Josh Hazlewood (RCB) won’t return due to injuries. Delhi Capitals’ Mitchell Starc and Jake Fraser-McGurk are not likely to return either, reportedly disturbed by the earlier events in Dharamshala. But Faf du Plessis and Tristan Stubbs are expected back for DC, who are still in playoff contention.
Kagiso Rabada Returns for South Africa’s WTC Final Clash against Australia
According to Mint, RCB will miss Hazlewood, but the rest of their foreign squad Liam Livingstone, Lungi Ngidi, and Nuwan Thushara will return. Gujarat Titans are in good shape too, as Kagiso Rabada and Gerald Coetzee will be available for the remaining matches.
Chennai Super Kings have most of their foreign players confirmed, including Devon Conway. But Rachin Ravindra’s return is uncertain, especially since CSK are already out of the playoffs.
Most of the foreign players who left went to places like Dubai, Singapore, or the Maldives during the break. While teams like KKR and Gujarat are openly sharing updates, Mumbai Indians have stayed silent about their overseas players for now, possibly as a strategy.
The IPL 2025 playoffs will begin with Qualifier 1 on May 29, followed by the Eliminator and Qualifier 2 on May 30 and June 1. The final will take place on June 3. The BCCI has not yet announced which cities will host the playoff matches.
