Club vs Country debate clouds IPL 2025 ahead of resumption on May 17

The club vs country debate has long been ongoing in the cricketing fraternity ever since the bloom of the T20 leagues worldwide. The overseas players find themselves in trouble in this regard as the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is concluding on June 3 this year. All the cricket boards had agreed for the players to be in the IPL till May 25, the earlier date of conclusion of the league.

But no one saw the border tensions between India and Pakistan rising to the highest levels. The barbaric attack on the tourists in Pahalgam that saw 26 people being killed led to India launching Operation Sindoor last week in retaliation. With both countries agreeing to a ceasefire, the IPL is set to resume, but not without its own set of challenges.

The international calendar is always full and somehow, hardly a two-month window is left vacant for the players to feature in the IPL. The window is extended this time and with the conclusion date being June 3, it has put players from England, West Indies, Australia and South Africa in jeopardy. 

The World Test Championship (WTC) final is set to be played on June 11 at Lord’s between Australia and South Africa. Cricket Australia has made its stance clear in this regard, giving free hand to its players on participation in the remainder of the IPL. Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc are the main players in contention with their respective teams in contention to make it to the playoffs. While Hazlewood is unlikely to return due to a shoulder injury, there is still a cloud over Starc’s comeback.

As for South Africa, eight of their players in the WTC Final squad are featuring in the IPL. Apart from Wiaan Mulder (SRH), teams of the remaining seven players are in the race to make it to the playoffs. CSA’s director of national teams, Enoch Nkwe has made it clear that the board is sticking to its original plan and want its players back by May 26.

“It is an individual decision, obviously, to return or to play or continue. But one thing we’ve made it clear, and we are finalising that with IPL and BCCI, is sticking to our original plan when it comes to the WTC preparations. Obviously, with May 26 being the latest for the Test guys to come back,” he said. South Africa are scheduled to play a four-day warm-up game against Zimbabwe in the lead up to the WTC Final and the squad will assemble in England on May 31.

As for the players from England and the West Indies, the three-match ODI series between the two teams is set to clash with the revised IPL schedule. The ODI series is scheduled from May 29 to June 3 and the likes of Jos Buttler (GT), Jacob Bethell (RCB), Will Jacks (MI), Romario Shepherd (RCB), Sherfane Rutherford (GT) and Shamar Joseph (LSG) have been selected in their respective teams.

Even though the ECB has vowed to support the BCCI and make decisions accordingly, the players look set to miss the IPL playoffs for now. “We’re keen to support the IPL and the BCCI in getting the schedule up and running, and to facilitate players’ return should they choose to go back. We’ll continue to work closely with the BCCI and the IPL as the situation develops,” the ECB spokesperson said.