The BCCI on Monday announced the resumption of IPL 2025 with the tournament starting with Royal Challengers Bengaluru's clash against Kolkata Knight Riders in Bengaluru on May 17. A total of 17 matches will be played across six venues.
Qualifier 1 and Eliminator are scheduled on May 29 and 30 respectively while Qualifier 2 will be held on June 1. The final is scheduled on June 3. The revised schedule includes two double-headers, which will be played on two Sundays.
"After extensive consultations with government and security agencies, and with all the key stakeholders, the Board has decided to proceed with the remainder of the season," read a statement issued by the BCCI. With Hyderabad and Kolkata not hosting any of the rescheduled remaining group stage matches, they may be front-runners for the play-offs and final (venues will be decided at later dates).
Gujarat Titans beat Mumbai Indians by 36 runs in Ahmedabad
Earlier, the tournament was suspended for a week after the cross border tension escalated between India and Pakistan. The match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals which was called off midway in Dharamsala on May 8 is set to be replayed in Jaipur on May 24.
Foreign stars may leave early
With the league extended to almost 10 days, the resumption of the international window will put overseas players in a tricky spot. As the World Test Championship final slated to begin from June 7, South Africa and Australia players are unlikely to feature at least in play-offs. While the latter may have a camp in England before the WTC final, the Proteas are reportedly set to play Zimbabwe in a tune-up match.
West Indies' white-ball tour of England (three ODIs and as many as T20Is) is slated to begin on May 29. The likes of Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd, named in the squad, may not be available. With Harry Brook elevated as leader as England's ODI captain, he may want to set an early marker so the likes of Jos Buttler and Jacob Bethell among others may skip the remaining games.
What happens to India A games
The proposed India A tour of England was scheduled to begin around May 30. That may now be revisited as the league has been pushed back thus robbing the likes of Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Prasidh Krishna — players who had chances of featuring in the main XI if they had good performances in the shadow tour — of quality time in England before the five-Test series.
