Australian cricket team ended the historic Pakistan tour on a high as they beat the hosts by 3 wickets in a nail-biter T20I game at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. With the Pakistan tour coming to an end, several Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises will breathe a sigh of relief as several Australian players will now be available for selection, even those who didn’t take part in the limited-overs leg of the tour.
While the likes of Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell and David Warner have already arrived in India, the trio weren’t available for selection till April 5 due to Cricket Australia’s (CA) contractual restrictions for the players.
With the tour over, five IPL-bound players, who were part of the white-ball squad are now set to arrive in India and will serve a mandatory 3-day quarantine before being eligible to play. So let’s take a look at the availability of all the Australian players and who will be available when:
Pat Cummins, David Warner and Glenn Maxwell
Cummins, Warner and Maxwell all arrived in India on or before April 2. While Cummins arrived straight from Pakistan, Warner went back home to spend a few days with his family. Maxwell, on the other hand, tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend Vini Raman and hence arrived late. All three players will be available for their respective sides starting April 6.
Hence, Cummins will be eligible to play for Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday against Mumbai Indians, Warner will feature in Delhi Capitals’ game against Lucknow Super Giants on April 7 while Maxwell will play for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on April 9 against Mumbai Indians.
Josh Hazlewood
Pacer Josh Hazlewood wasn’t part of the white-ball leg of the Pakistan tour but went back home for a short break and according to an IPL source is set to arrive in India in a couple of days, which rules him out of the April 9 game. Hazlewood is likely to be available for RCB’s game on April 12 against Chennai Super Kings.
Mitchell Marsh
Australia’s T20 World Cup star was part of the limited-overs squad, however, he suffered a hip-flexor strain during practice before the ODI series began and it ruled him out of the four white-ball games. After which, he arrived in India soon and has completed his quarantine. Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting said that it will take at least 5-6 days for him to recover fully from the strain and hence he is likely to be available from Game 5 of the franchise which is on April 16.
Aaron Finch, Nathan Ellis, Marcus Stoinis, Jason Behrendorff and Sean Abbott
With the limited-overs series against Pakistan over, the five IPL-bound players from the squad will start arriving in India from Wednesday. Depending upon their date of arrival, followed by three-day quarantine, the likes of Aaron Finch (KKR), Nathan Ellis (PBKS), Marcus Stoinis (LSG), Jason Behrendorff (RCB) and Sean Abbott (SRH) will be available for their respective sides starting April 10.
