Overseas players begin to leave even as IPL prepares Plan B for resumption in May

Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad have been shortlisted to host the 16 remaining IPL 2025 matches if the tournament resumes in May after being suspended on Friday. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the IPL chose the three southern Indian cities as part of a likely plan in case it gets the nod from the Indian government to resume the tournament.

On Friday, the BCCI suspended the IPL for a week because of the cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan over the past few days. It could not be confirmed if the BCCI has decided on a cut-off date to decide whether to resume the IPL if it were to take place in May.

Despite the proactive step in keeping the three venues ready, the BCCI officials acknowledged the difficulty of resuming the IPL quickly in the current environment. Franchise officials were informally informed of this on Friday, and several team officials ESPNcricinfo spoke to indicated that the remainder of the season could be played later in the year.

Among the most significant challenges for the BCCI when it comes to a May resumption is to get the overseas players to return. Immediately after the suspension was announced, teams started disbanding, and players started to get on the next available flights to their respective destinations. A majority of the overseas players are expected to leave India by the end of Saturday.

While the franchises remain optimistic that most overseas players would return if the tournament were to resume later in May, they admitted there would be no guarantees if the window extended beyond May 25, when the IPL 2025 final was scheduled to be played in Kolkata. That's because of the bilateral commitments for several players, as well as the World Test Championship (WTC) final between Australia and South Africa, starting on June 11 at Lord's.

A total of 57 matches had been completed in IPL 2025, and the 58th was underway on May 8 between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Delhi Capitals (DC) in Dharamsala, which was called off after 10.1 overs of play. The IPL has not yet taken a call on whether that match would be replayed.

There are 12 league matches remaining, and then the four playoffs. Originally, Hyderabad was meant to host the first qualifier and the eliminator, with Kolkata hosting the second qualifier and the final.