IPL 2019: How each franchise will suffer because of the unavailability of their overseas players

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The IPL auction is just a few days away and the franchises will be having their preparations in full swing as they will be sitting down to pick their squad for the upcoming 2019 IPL.

The 12th edition of IPL, however, might garner less attention because of two reasons. Firstly, it could be moved out of India due to the 2019 General Elections and at the same time, the 2019 ICC World Cup will get underway in England just days after the completion of the IPL and the national cricket boards have rightly given the ODI tournament more priority than the T20 extravaganza.

As a result of this, most of the boards have given a deadline for their players to leave the IPL mid-way and join their national team to prepare themselves for the World Cup. Barring India, New Zealand and West Indies, the other boards are against allowing their players playing the whole tournament in a bid to keep them fresh for the World Cup.

Bangladesh players in the IPL will be available for the first few days as the BCB have set the deadline on 15 April while the England Cricket Board have asked their players to leave the tournament by 25 April. The Australians, who will be playing an ODI series in UAE early May, are asked to join their side by May 2. While Sri Lankans have asked their players, if they are picked in the auction, on May 6, South Africa have set a deadline of May 10.

It is very clear that the franchises could suffer because of the unavailability of their overseas professionals throughout the IPL. Let us take a look at how each franchise will suffer because of the unavailability of their overseas stars.


Delhi Daredevils

Chris Morris
Chris Morris

Delhi Daredevils have retained only four overseas players and out of the five, only Sandeep Lamichhane, Trent Boult and Colin Munro will be available for the whole tournament. South African duo of Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris will have to leave the tournament mid-way through and their absence could prove to be very costly if they don't address this issue in the upcoming IPL auction. There are more chances that Kagiso Rabada might be missing the whole tournament if Cricket South Africa want to keep him fresh for the World Cup.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the latest IPL 2019 Auction news, updates, probable playing XI, fantasy tips and stats.

Chennai Super Kings

Faf du Plessis
Faf du Plessis

The defending IPL champions have retained their core from last year as they released just three players including England pacer Mark Wood. Chennai have all their eight overseas spots filled and will not be buying anyone in the auction.

In Shane Watson, Sam Billings, Dwayne Bravo and Mitchell Santner, Chennai will have four overseas players who are likely to be available for the IPL as Bravo and Watson have already announced their retirement while Billings is unlikely to make it to the England squad.

They will be missing the services of their England all-rounder David Willey and South African trio of Faf du Plessis, Lungi Ngidi and Imran Tahir, who are certainties for the World Cup.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the latest IPL 2019 Auction news, updates, probable playing XI, fantasy tips and stats.

Kings XI Punjab

David Miller
David Miller

Kings XI Punjab have retained only nine players and out of the nine, five (four overseas and one Indian) might be playing in the World Cup but that should not be a big issue for R Ashwin and co. South African batsman David Miller, in all likelihood, will leave the IPL in-between to join the South African squad.

Andrew Tye could leave the tournament after the first half if he is picked in the Australian side, which looks unlikely at the moment as the likes of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins are set to return to the national ODI side.

Opener Chris Gayle and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are likely to play the whole tournament as they don't have any deadlines to join their national team during the IPL.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the latest IPL 2019 Auction news, updates, probable playing XI, fantasy tips and stats.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Chris Lynn
Chris Lynn

Out of the 13 players retained by Kolkata Knight Riders, three are overseas professionals and all three of them are in contention to play in the World Cup. Chris Lynn, the Aussie middle-order batsman, will leave the tournament in the first week of May to join his Aussie teammates.

The other two foreigners, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, might play the whole IPL even if they are picked to represent West Indies as it looks like the WICB have allowed their players to play the whole tournament. They will look to keep this in mind when they sit down and pick their squad at the auction.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the latest IPL 2019 Auction news, updates, probable playing XI, fantasy tips and stats.

Mumbai Indians

Quinton de Kock
Quinton de Kock

Though the three-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians will be having a majority of their overseas stars for the whole tournament, they could be suffering to an extent in the IPL if the BCCI decide to manage the workload of the Indian pacers going into the World Cup.

The likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya are very crucial for India in the tournament and an injury to them could dent India's hopes in the World Cup. In order to keep them fit and fresh, BCCI might want them to be rotated throughout the tournament.

Coming to the overseas professionals, Mumbai Indians will be missing Quinton de Kock after the first few weeks and apart from him, none of the players who are retained is expected to leave during the tournament. Aussie internationals Ben Cutting and Jason Behrandorff are a part of their T20I set-up, not ODIs, while Mitchell McClenaghan is not in the scheme of things for New Zealand. Even if they are picked in the Windies squad, Evin Lewis and Kieron Pollard will be available for the whole tournament.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the latest IPL 2019 Auction news, updates, probable playing XI, fantasy tips and stats.

Rajasthan Royals

Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes

Among all the eight teams, Rajasthan Royals will be suffering the most as they are likely to miss as many as four players from the five they have retained ahead of the 2019 IPL.

They have received a big boost as their former skipper Steve Smith is set to return from his suspension but, it is highly unlikely that he will be playing the whole tournament as he might leave the IPL mid-way to join the Aussie ODI side if he is picked in the side once he returns from the suspension.

The core of last year's squad, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, will also leave the tournament in-between as they are set to be a part of England's ODI squad for the World Cup. Ish Sodhi is the only retained overseas player who will be available for the whole season.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the latest IPL 2019 Auction news, updates, probable playing XI, fantasy tips and stats.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers

The only set of fans who will be happy with AB de Villiers announcing his retirement from international cricket is the Royal Challengers Bangalore fans as the former South African batsman will be available throughout the tournament.

Along with him, Kiwi duo of Tim Southee and Colin de Grandhomme will play the whole IPL while the two Aussie imports Nathan Coulter-Nile and Marcus Stoinis, who was traded for Mandeep Singh with Kings XI Punjab, are likely to leave in-between as they are regulars in the Australian ODI side.

England all-rounder Moeen Ali will be available for the first half of the tournament before he joins his national team.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the latest IPL 2019 Auction news, updates, probable playing XI, fantasy tips and stats.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

David Warner
David Warner

Ahead of the 2019 IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad have received a big boost as their former skipper David Warner is set to return from his suspension. But, that could be short-lived as he might leave the IPL mid-way to join the Aussie ODI side if he is picked in the side once he returns from the suspension. Just like Warner, his Aussie teammate Billy Stanlake could be missing a part of IPL if he is picked in the squad.

Apart from them, their all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will be available only for the first few days due to international commitments. Kane Williamson will be available for the whole tournament while the Afghanistan duo of Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan might also play all the matches as Afghanistan Cricket Board did not give any deadline for their players to return from IPL.

Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar could be rotated throughout the tournament if BCCI want their bowlers to have enough rest going into the World Cup.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the latest IPL 2019 Auction news, updates, probable playing XI, fantasy tips and stats.

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Edited by Vineet Aiyer
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