How well will IPL teams recover from the break?

Hindustan Times

15-05-2025

The spectre of war can be cruel but also curiously galvanising. Its aftermath, however, can't always be dictated, especially in these days, and particularly for a tournament like the IPL that depends on multiple stakeholders. Key players have pulled out, venues have been changed, and more importantly, momentum has been lost. After the entire country was on edge for a week, will IPL 2025 prevail once again? Only time will tell.
The IPL has been postponed before, notably because of a pandemic that had held the world hostage for nearly two years. A week of escalating hostilities between India and Pakistan however felt equally grim, specifically on the day an ongoing IPL match (May 8) had to be abandoned in Dharamsala amidst reports of nearby Pathankot coming under fire. Details from the 'WillowTalk' podcast that had Alyssa Healy—Australian women's captain and wife of Mitchell Starc—filling in with more details, paints an even bleaker picture of what actually transpired behind the scenes.
'Couple of the light towers went out and we were just there waiting. I heard a rumour a couple of seats down that we might have to evacuate the stadium cause the lights had gone down,' Healy was quoted as saying. 'And we are a large group of family and extra support staff. And next minute the guy that kind of wrangles the group of us and gets us on the bus, comes up and his face was white. 'And he was like, we need to go right now'.'
Inside the dressing room reigned confusion. 'The boys (players) are there. Faf (du Plessis) didn't even have shoes on,' said Healy. 'They're all just waiting there, looking stressed. I asked Mitch, 'what's going on?' And he said, 'the town 60 kilometres away had just been smacked by some of the missiles'.' Sanity could have nosedived but for the BCCI that assured the safe passage of the spectators and players that night. Barely a week has passed and the IPL is returning with tweaks and changes, but not entirely free of apprehensions.
Like Delhi Capitals, who will have to live with the news of Starc not coming back for the remainder of the IPL. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, aiming for a top-two finish, are still sweating on an update from Cricket Australia (CA) regarding Josh Hazlewood. CA has taken an official stance that the decision to rejoin the IPL teams will be entirely personal.
And with the World Test Championship final—featuring Australia and South Africa—set to begin at Lord's on June 11, quite a few participating players could be called away sooner or later. As of now, South Africans Kagiso Rabada (Gujarat Titans), Aiden Markram (Lucknow Super Giants), Marco Jansen (Punjab Kings), Tristan Stubbs (Delhi Capitals), Lungi Ngidi (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Wiaan Mulder (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Ryan Rickelton and Corbin Bosch (both Mumbai Indians) are reportedly leaving on May 30, meaning they will miss the playoffs for their respective teams.
This also means reworking strategy, which for some franchises translates to going back to the white board. The towering Jansen's left-arm pace has been key to Punjab Kings stifling runs in the middle overs. Mustafizur Rahman is no Starc, and even if the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) eventually sorts out his NOC, he has too few matches to make an impact.
RCB is one of the few teams lucky enough to still play at home but if Hazlewood ultimately doesn't travel, replicating his probing lengths will be almost impossible. Similarly, not having Moeen Ali for the rest of the phase means Kolkata Knight Riders will lose some edge in their spin bowling attack at a time pitches are expected to be drier.
Professional teams are expected to tide over such hurdles but it could be overwhelmingly difficult for some teams who have evidently been too reliant on a few players. Gujarat Titans are just one win away from making the playoffs but that is when they are set to lose Jos Buttler, who will join the England ODI team.
Which means losing out on a third of their most successful run-scoring trio (Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan being the other two) just when the former England skipper might be needed the most. Kusal Perera has been drafted in, but he can't be a like-for-like replacement.
For franchises like Mumbai Indians who basically thrive on momentum, no one knows how this break would have hit them. And for some of the other teams sitting on the fringe, this could be a chance to catch a break.
There is always the example of KKR, who had strung just two wins out of seven games till the 2021 IPL had to be paused in May, only to return in September to win five out of the next seven matches and qualify for the Eliminator. An encore on those lines would surely spice up the business end.