IPL 2019: 25 Foreign stars going to leave Tournament in Mid

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 25 of the outgoing cricketers.

Here’s a team-wise breakup of which of the franchises will be worst affected.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

1. David Warner - Australia
2. Jonny Bairstow - England
3. 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

1. Moeen Ali - England
2. Marcus Stoinis - Australia
3. Dale Steyn - South Africa
4. Heinrich Klaasen - South Africa
5. Shimron Hetmyer - West Indies

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

1. Faf du Plessis -South Africa
2. 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

1. 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

1. Steve Smith - Australia
2. Ben Stokes - England
3. Jos Buttler - England
4. 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

1. Quinton de Kock - South Africa
2. Lasith Malinga - Sri Lanka
3. Jason Behrendorff - Australia
4. Kieron Pollard - West Indies

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.

It is a similar case for West Indian cricketers as well since the board had earlier exempted IPL players from the 15-man squad they announced for the tri-series against Ireland and Bangladesh starting 5 May. However, with a new President running the board now, their stand could change when they finally announce their World Cup 15 on Thursday night 11 PM IST.

Kieron Pollard’s selection in fact is one of the big talking points ahead of the selection as the 31-year-old all-rounder hasn't played an ODI since 2016.

Kings XI Punjab

1. David Miller - South Africa
2. Chris Gayle - West Indies
3. Nicolas Pooran - West Indies

If the West Indies cricket board does overturn their earlier decision to let their players continue in the IPL, two teams who will take the biggest hit will be Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders. Simply because- Chris Gayle and Andre Russell.

Having struggled with a bit of an injury niggle earlier in the season, Chris Gayle once again is his team’s biggest star with 421 runs in just 9 innings. His highest score this season - 99 not out.

Kolkata Knight Riders

1. Carlos Braithwaite - West Indies
2. Andre Russell - West Indies
3. Joe Denly - England

392 runs, 7 wickets and Kolkata Knight Riders would be hard-pressed to find a replacement for their top run-scorer and wicket-taker this season. That is, again, if West Indies select Andre Russell to play the World Cup. Previous stand-offs with the board have seen Russell not play one-day international cricket for almost a year but with the new administration and his current form, it would be tough to keep this all-rounder from any 15-man squad. (The Quint)