IPL 2022: Franchises In State Of Uncertainty After Australia Announce Pakistan Tour

Cricket Australia's endorsement of the men's team tour of Pakistan has left the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises in a state of uncertainty and tricky situation before the mega auction.

Following a meeting of CA's directors on Friday, a revised schedule for the three-Test, three-ODI and one-T20I tour of Pakistan was given the green light. The month-long tour could force some of the top Australian players to miss potentially four to five games of the IPL 2022, posing some serious questions in front of the team owners.

Last month, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah had confirmed that the 15th season of the Indian Premier League will begin from the final week in March.

According to a Cricbuzz report, the visiting IPL players will have to undergo a five-day quarantine period which means they will have to stay isolated up to at least April 11.

"That is quite a late arrival. We will have to see who are all picked for the tour," said a franchise official.

CA has not yet announced the squads for the Pakistan tour and it will be interesting to see the names of players who make it to the side.

A total of 47 Australian players including top players like Pat Cummins, David Warner, Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Josh Hazlewood, all all-format players, have registered themselves for the mega auction. On the other hand, the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis have been retained by the franchises.

The BCCI has not formally written to the teams listing out the exact availability periods of the overseas players for the season and the franchises are eagerly waiting for the information ahead of the February 12 and 13 auction.

Meanwhile, the availability of England and New Zealand players for the full IPL are also in doubt as the two teams will be involved in a three-Test series that starts on June 2. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is expected to call back their Test specialists a little ahead of the series.

South Africa will play a home series (three ODIs and two Tests) against Bangladesh and the last match of the bilateral engagement, a Test, ends on April 11. Cricket South Africa has forwarded 33 names for the auction, while there are five from Bangladesh and 24 each from England and New Zealand.