IPL allows temporary overseas replacements for the last phase

Mustafizur Rahman has been roped in by Delhi Capitals as a replacement for Jake Frazer-McGurk for the remainder of IPL 2025.
| Photo Credit: File photo: EMMANUAL YOGINI

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has modified its rules to allow temporary overseas replacements for the remainder of the 2025 edition, set to be played from May 17 to June 3. The change has been necessitated due to the tournament’s week-long suspension after cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan.

“Given the non-availability of certain foreign players due to national commitments or personal reasons or any injury or illness, temporary replacement players will be allowed until the conclusion of this tournament,” stated a communication shared by the IPL authorities with all the franchises ahead of the tournament’s resumption.

“This decision is subject to the condition that the temporary replacement players taken from this point forward will not be eligible for retention in the following year. Temporary replacement players will have to register for the IPL Player Auction 2026.”

It means that Bangladesh seamer Mustafizur Rahman – who was formally announced as a replacement for Jake Frazer-McGurk for Delhi Capitals on Tuesday – will not be eligible to be retained for the next season, but Frazer-McGurk will be.

According to the rulebook distributed ahead of the season, no team was allowed to sign a temporary player once it started its 12th league match. But due to the unprecedented scenario of a sudden, week-long suspension of the tournament, the IPL authorities have amended the rules.

Ever since the IPL was suspended on May 9, a day after the Punjab Kings’ home game against Delhi Capitals in Dharamshala had to be called off and the stadium evacuated as a result, a majority of the overseas players have returned home.

While a majority are coming back, some of the players who will be in action in the World Test Championship final will not return along with those whose families are averse to them returning to India. To ensure no team is severely impacted due to the absence of overseas players, the IPL authorities have extended the temporary replacement window for the business end of the tournament.