Over the next one week, the 2019 IPL is going to see a mass exodus of some of the biggest international stars who have lit up the league so far this season.
It is, after all, the year of the World Cup.
England, Australia, South Africa and Bangladesh are reported to have called their players back by the first week of May to join national camps as IPL teams will be left scrambling to replace around 18 of the outgoing cricketers.
Here’s a team-wise breakup of which of the franchises will be worst affected.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
- David Warner - Australia
- Jonny Bairstow - England
- Shakib al Hasan - Bangladesh
Not just the franchise but the 2019 season of the Indian Premier League is now slated to lose the most successful partnership of the season. Together, David Warner and Jonny Bairstow’s opening stand for SRH has amassed a massive 967 runs in 10 matches, including nine fifties and two hundreds.
While Bairstow is already on his way to England to join the national camp ahead of the Pakistan ODI series, David Warner will return home after the weekend to meet Australia’s 1 May deadline.
“They (Bairstow and Warner) are going to be big losses. They are world class players and they will be missed at the back end.”Kane Williamson, Captain - Sunrisers Hyderabad
While Kane Williamson himself returned home to New Zealand on Monday following the passing of his grandmother, the skipper is expected to return in time for the team’s next fixture, against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Saturday.
The foreign player who replaced Kane in Tuesday’s game against CSK, Shakib-al-Hasan himself is also slated to return to Bangladesh by early May to join his team in time to leave for UK to participate in the tri-series featuring Ireland and West Indies that stretches from 5-17 May.
New Zealand however are not playing any international fixtures before the World Cup warm-ups start and the board committed their players to play the entire IPL 2019.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
- Moeen Ali - England
- Marcus Stoinis - Australia
- Dale Steyn - South Africa
With their campaign just about taking off now, Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore squad will take a massive hit over the next week. Moeen Ali (216 runs) and Marcus Stoinis (133 runs) are the team’s fourth and fifth highest-scorers so far while Ali has also stepped up with the ball, taking 5 wickets with an economy of 6.68. The English all-rounder will play his final match of the season, against KXIP in Bengaluru on Wednesday night and expressed his disappointment at having to leave the team at such a crucial leg of the season.
“It’s not ideal. I think it’s worse when there are 3 games to go. If there were 6, 7 games, it was a little more understandable. And knowing that there could be a chance of going through if we win all our games, then you miss out on a potential semifinal and stuff.”Moeen Ali, England
Virat’s RCB currently stand only an outside chance of reaching the next stage, provided they win all upcoming matches and the results of the other teams work out in their favour.
That task though will only get harder as RCB’s latest injury replacement, Dale Steyn, who picked two CSK wickets in the first over of the innings, will also be leaving soon to join the Proteas camp. Steyn had come into the team in place of the injured Nathan Coulter-Nile.
Chennai Super Kings
- Faf du Plessis -South Africa
- Imran Tahir - South Africa
While South Africa’s cricket board has not officially announced the dates of the national camp for the World Cup, the Proteas players are not expected to stay till the end of the season.
IPL’s Governing Council on Monday announced that the final will be played on 12 May in Hyderabad. However, with the World Cup warm-ups in England starting on 24 May and teams needing to hold training and then conditioning camps, expect two of MS Dhoni’s biggest stars to head home in the next week as well.
Imran Tahir, in fact, is CSK’s highest wicket-taker with 16 wickets in his 11 outings.
Delhi Capitals
- Kagiso Rabada - South Africa
Delhi Capitals, who did a major amount of rebuilding in the IPL 2019 IPL auction in December, clearly made picks with cricketers’ World Cup commitments in mind. Therefore, the franchise is slated to lose just the one player - Kagiso Rabada.
However, Rabada’s departure could have a massive effect on the team’s composition as he is also currently Shreyas Iyer’s most lethal bowler, picking 23 wickets in 11 matches. The 23-year-old is also currently the purple cap holder.
Rajasthan Royals
- Steve Smith - Australia
- Ben Stokes - England
- Jos Buttler - England
- Jofra Archer - England
Things are not looking up for Rajasthan Royals who are currently struggling in the bottom half of the IPL standings.
Their top run-scorer for the last two seasons, Jos Buttler returned home earlier than expected to join his wife for the birth of their first child. He missed the game against Delhi on Monday and is not slated to return as the England Cricket Board had asked the players to report by 26 April for the national camp, ahead of the Pakistan series. Ben Stokes too, at most, may play the Sunrisers fixture on Saturday before heading back.
While Jofra Archer, with his newly acquired British citizenship, hasn't been picked in England’s World Cup squad, he’s part of the team slated to play Pakistan, with a chance of him getting picked if he does manage to outperform any of the unfortunate 15 England announced last week.
That leaves Steve Smith. The new RR skipper too will head home soon, leaving the team management to have the unenviable conversation with Ajinkya Rahane to take over the captaincy once again. Rahane is also currently the team’s top-scorer following the century against Delhi Capitals.
Mumbai Indians
- Quinton de Kock - South Africa
- Lasith Malinga - Sri Lanka
- Jason Behrendorff - Australia
From their regular playing squad, Mumbai Indians are currently scheduled to lose the services of only Quinton de Kock. But much like Delhi Capitals, their one player leaving is also an integral part of their campaign.
Quinton is the team’s top-scorer with 378 runs, that include three half centuries.
There is currently no clarity of whether Sri Lankan cricket will ask Lasith Malinga to return home before the 12 May final.
Kings XI Punjab
- David Miller - South Africa
With the West Indies cricket board not recalling any of their World Cup-bound players for the upcoming tri-series against Bangladesh and Ireland, Punjab and Kolkata are the two franchises that benefit the most.
Chris Gayle and Nicolas Pooran are integral parts of the Punjab outfit and if they are to make a serious run for a spot in the final, both stars will be needed in the dressing room.
David Miller with his 202 runs in 9 outings will however be missed.
Kolkata Knight Riders
- Joe Denly - England
392 runs, 7 wickets and Kolkata Knight Riders would have been hard-pressed to find a replacement for their top run-scorer and wicket-taker this season had the West Indies board called their players for national duty.
Despite playing his last ODI in July 2018, Andre Russell has been selected in West Indies’ 15-man squad for the World Cup. He will, however, complete his IPL season before joining the national team.
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