Foreign players likely to return

The BCCI and IPL franchises have ramped up pressure on foreign boards to ensure that their players return for the league’s resumption May 17 despite some lingering safety concerns in the wake of India-Pakistan military hostilities.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

The BCCI top brass has instructed IPL COO Hemang Amin to individually speak to the likes of Cricket Australia (CA) and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to allay the concerns that the players may have about returning to India.

All the 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 May 9 due to an India-Pakistan military showdown, triggered by the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, south Kashmir. 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 Tuesday.