BCCI Puts Pressure On Foreign Boards To Send Players For IPL 2025, Some Still 'Anxious': Report

The BCCI and IPL franchises have ramped up pressure on foreign boards to ensure that their players return for the league's resumption on May 17 despite some lingering safety concerns in the wake of India-Pakistan military hostilities. The BCCI top brass has instructed IPL COO Hemang Amin to individually speak to the likes of Cricket Australia and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to allay the concerns that the players may have about returning to India.

All 10 teams are involved in a lot of back and forth with their overseas recruits over their arrival plans in India a day after the IPL announced the revised schedule following necessary security clearances from the government.

The world's biggest T20 league was suspended on May 9 due to an India-Pakistan military showdown, triggered by the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam. A day after its suspension, a ceasefire between the two countries was announced, paving the way for IPL's resumption.

"We have been speaking to the foreign boards individually while teams are directly dealing with their players. We expect majority of them to return," a BCCI official told PTI on Tuesday.

CA has left it on the players to decide on their participation and in matters like these, the players' association has a role to play.

Team officials, on the other hand, told PTI that some of the foreign players remain anxious to return but the majority of them should come back before the tournament resumes.

"The revised schedule was announced last night. We have just started contacting our foreign players over their availability. We will have a clearer picture by tomorrow morning. Anyway, our game is on May 20. We have enough time," said CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan.

CSK's foreign players include