Cricket Australia (CA) and New Zealand Cricket (NZC) recently announced that players from their teams will be available to participate in the IPL 2020 only after March 30.
This means that the Trans-Tasman stars will miss out on the March-leg of the upcoming IPLseason. Australia and New Zealand players are scheduled to feature for the Chappell-Hadlee ODI series, subsequently, in the T20I series. The last game will be played at Christchurch on May 29. Also, some of the Australian players will be engaged in the Sheffield Shield finals in Australia, scheduled between March 27-31.
Further, ECB (England Cricket Board) also intimated the IPL governing body that their players would also be available from April 1. They play Sri Lanka in a 2-match Test series, concluding on March 31.
Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, the defending champions and the runners-up from the previous edition, will lock horns in the tournament opener on March 29. The following day, Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab will compete at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
The last day of the March-leg of the tournament will witness Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. All six teams will miss the international stars from Australia, New Zealand, and England, for their first games.
With stars such as Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Steve Smith forming the core of their lineup, Rajasthan Royals most likely insisted the authorities for starting their tournament last, on April 2 against Chennai Super Kings.
Meanwhile, the All-Stars match between North and East, and West and South based franchise will take place four days before the start of the tournament, i.e., March 25.
