IPL 2025 New Rule: Temporary Replacement of Players Benefits Franchise After the Restart of the League
As the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 is set to restart on May 17 (Saturday), one week after the suspension period, the franchises get a sigh of relief after being informed about the temporary replacement rules. Thanks to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and IPL organizers for taking a big initiative that allowed franchises to proceed with new signings before the tournament’s resumption.
Due to the cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan, the 18th season of the league was paused on May 09 (Friday).
This rule is applicable to the overseas players who opted out for the remainder of the tournament, as well as those who were injured. These new signings offer flexibility to a majority of teams in maintaining a proper balance to their squads.
However, there are certain limitations to the temporary replacement rule, which will benefit franchises only for the last leg of the IPL.
What are the Limitations of the IPL’s Temporary Replacement Rule?
Although BCCI allowed franchises to sign temporary replacements, but implemented certain restrictions such as:
- The substitutes must be chosen from the Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP). In other words, the unsold players from the IPL 2025 mega auction are eligible to replace the absentees for a specified price.
- Once a replacement is announced, the original player is ineligible to rejoin the squad for the remainder of the IPL season.
- The new signings are permitted upto the completion of the IPL season, which includes the league-stage matches and playoffs.
- IPL franchises are not allowed to retain these temporary replacements ahead of next year’s auction. For instance, Kusal Mendis, who was formally named as Jos Buttler’s replacement for the Gujarat Titans, will not be retained for the next season and has to register for the IPL 2026 mega auction. However, Buttler continues to secure his spot.
- The injury replacements signed before the suspension are eligible for retention ahead of the next season’s auction.
- Suppose an original player of the team discontinues in between the season due to international commitments, the temporarily replaced ones can represent only after the exit of that particular player.
For example, Jos Buttler will play the league stages fixtures and will be unavailable for the playoffs as England’s white ball fixtures against West Indies starts on May 29. In such conditions, Kusal Mendis can make his IPL debut only if Buttler departs for his country during the tournament’s knockouts.
Why Overseas Players Pulled Out for the Remainder of IPL 2025?
As the revised schedule of IPL 2025 clashes with the international commitments, a handful of overseas players have opted out of the tournament. For instance, Australian Pacer has set his focus on the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final on June 11 and misses the remaining phases of the tournament.
Also, with the IPL final rescheduled from its original date of May 25 to June 03, the key players from England, West Indies, Australia, and South Africa are actively involved in their national duties.
Although several foreign stars rejoined their teams, but still a few of them have cited reasons as personal reasons or injury.
Perhaps, a few foreigners might have prioritized their safety first due to the increased Indo-Pak war and decided not to return to India.
IPL Teams Sign Replacements for Overseas Players on International Commitment
As per the previous IPL regulations, teams were allowed to sign replacements in case of injury occurred before the 12th match of the league stages in a particular season.
After the suspension, the BCCI has revised the existing rules, allowing the teams to sign temporary replacements till the completion of IPL 2025. This rule is applicable to those overseas players as well who depart for international duties in the middle of the season.
List of Temporary Replacements for IPL 2025: Teams Analysis
The following is the list of temporary replacements that each team signed for the remainder of IPL 2025:
| Player | Reasons | New Replacement | Replacement Player’s Price | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jos Buttler | International Commitments (Out of Playoffs) | Kusal Mendis | INR 75 lakhs | Gujarat Titans (GT) |
| Kagiso Rabada | International Commitments (Out of Playoffs) | Yet To Be Announced | - | Gujarat Titans (GT) |
| Glenn Phillips | Groin Injury | Dasun Shanaka | INR 75 Lakh | Gujarat Titans (GT) |
| Will Jacks | International Commitments (Out of Playoffs) | Jonny Bairstow (TBC) | - | Mumbai Indians (MI) |
| Ryan Rickelton | International Commitments (Out of Playoffs) | Richard Gleeson (TBC) | - | Mumbai Indians (MI) |
| Corbin Bosch | International Commitments (Out of Playoffs) | TBA | - | Mumbai Indians (MI) |
| Will Jacks | International Commitments (Out of Playoffs) | Jonny Bairstow (TBC) | - | Mumbai Indians (MI) |
| Devdutt Padikkal | Injury | Mayank Agarwal | INR 1 Crore | Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) |
| Jacob Bethell | International Commitments (Out of Playoffs) | Yet To Be Announced | - | Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) |
| Lungi Ngidi | International Commitments (Out of Playoffs) | Yet To Be Announced | - | Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) |
| Glenn Maxwell | Injury | Mitchell Owen | INR 3 Crore | Punjab Kings (PBKS) |
| Lockie Ferguson | Injury | Kyle Jamieson | INR 2 Crore | Punjab Kings (PBKS) |
| Marco Jansen | International Commitments (Out of Playoffs) | Yet To Be Announced | - | Punjab Kings (PBKS) |
| Jake Fraser-McGurk | Personal Reasons (Out of Tournament) | Mustafizur Rahman | INR 6 Crore | Delhi Capitals (DC) |
| Mitchell Starc | International Commitments (Out of Tournament) | TBA | - | Delhi Capitals (DC) |
| Donovan Ferreira | Personal Reasons (Out of Tournament) | TBA | - | Delhi Capitals (DC) |
| Tristan Stubbs | International Commitments (Out of Tournament) | TBA | - | Delhi Capitals (DC) |
| Aiden Makram | International Commitments (Out of Playoffs) | TBA | - | Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) |
| Shamar Joseph | International Commitments (Out of Tournament) | TBA | - | Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) |
| Mayank Yadav | Injury | Will O’Rourke | INR 3 Crore | Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) |
| Moeen Ali | Personal Reasons (Out of Tournament) | TBA | - | Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) |
| Rovman Powell | Injury | TBA | - | Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) |
| Jofra Archer | Injury | TBA | - | Rajasthan Royals (RR) |
| Maheesh Theekshana | Injury | TBA | - | Rajasthan Royals (RR) |
| Nitish Rana | Injury | Lhuan dre-Pretorious | INR 30 Lakhs | Rajasthan Royals (RR) |
| Sandeep Sharma | Injury | Nandre Burger | - | Rajasthan Royals (RR) |
| Jamie Overton | International Commitments (Out of Tournament) | TBA | - | Chennai Super Kings (CSK) |
| Sam Curran | International Commitments (Out of Tournament) | TBA | - | Chennai Super Kings (CSK) |
Sunrisers Hyderabad is the only team having all its overseas players available for the remaining league-stage matches of IPL 2025.
NOTE: Here, “TBA” means the temporary replacement players are yet To Be announced officially, and “TBC” specifies “To Be Confirmed” for the completion stages of IPL 2025.
Will Overseas Players Be Penalized for Opting Out of IPL 2025?
No! Ahead of the IPL 2025, the BCCI introduced a stringent rule to ban players for the next two IPL seasons who withdraw either before or middle of the tournament. This rule was eliminated in force majeure cases.
However, the IPL contracted players are exempted from their commitments following the Indo-Pak war situation.
Under the force majeure clause, the IPL contracted players (both Indian and overseas) aren’t fined, suspended, or banned in case of uncontrollable situations such as natural disasters, geopolitical conflicts, war, and so on…
So, it is understood that franchises cannot demand the Board to take legal action against those players who omit the tournament, no matter, if their absence severely impact on the team’s success. Instead, the franchises can opt for temporary replacements who can serve the squad till the completion of the 18th season.
