Indian Premier League (IPL) sides may have a task on their hands convincing cricketers from South Africa and the West Indies, who played in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, to join their squads on time.
The
escalating conflict in West Asia is also a significant concern for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials. The war has severely disrupted international travel, with major airports like Doha and Dubai facing heavy restrictions.
As a consequence, some squad members from South Africa and the West Indies have yet to return home, even a week after completing their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains unclear if the IPL-bound players from these two nations will report to their respective teams on time.
“There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia,” a team official was quoted as saying to PTI.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan informed PTI that he expects West Indies’ Akeal Hossein and South Africa’s Dewald Brevis to join the team well before their IPL opener. “We are expecting no delays from their end,” he said.
IPL Schedule Out!
The BCCI announced the IPL schedule for the first 20 games on Wednesday and will release the full schedule once the election dates for Tamil Nadu, Assam, and West Bengal are confirmed.
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will face Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28.
All matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium are subject to clearance from the Karnataka government-appointed expert committee, which will meet on March 13 to assess the venue’s preparedness following last season’s deadly stampede.
The second game of the opening weekend will have Mumbai Indians hosting Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium, with no double-headers scheduled for the opening weekend.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad.
(With inputs from Agencies)
