Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
With the sudden suspension of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 and its rescheduling, has reportedly hampered the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to announce India A squad for the upcoming England tour. It is to be noted that India A is scheduled to play three games in England.
While they will lock horns with England Lions in two matches from May 30 - June 2 and June 6-9, they will then play the senior Indian team from June 13 to 16 as the latter will then take on England in a grueling five-match Test series, starting from June 20. But with the BCCI eventually scheduled to announce the India A squad by May 13, has seen a visible delay.
IPL 2025 resheduling forces BCCI to delay India squad annoucnement
With the complete rescheduling of the IPL 2025, which will now be hosted across six cities, has reportedly caused an extended delay for the Indian cricket board to announce India A squad. A reliable source close to the development said, as quoted by TOI, "The problem is that quite a few players, who are supposed to be picked for the India A tour, will be busy for their franchises as the IPL playoffs start only from May 29. In such a scenario, those players whose teams make it to the playoffs are likely to miss at least the initial part of the India A tour of England.”
“Right now, we don’t have complete clarity on which teams will make the playoffs and which won't. For example, can the selectors pick Karun Nair, whose team Delhi Capitals is in the race for a playoffs berth? I guess we will have to wait for a few days for more clarity on the availability of the players, as the IPL scenario will become clearer," the source added.
The source close to the developments also hinted on Yashasvi Jasiwal and Dhruv Jurel’s inclusion, while adding that their IPLfranchise is out of contention for playoffs and thus are likely to be available for the India A tour. "Jaiswal and Jurel are likely to be there as their team (Rajasthan Royals) is not in contention for an IPL playoffs berth. The selectors are keen that Jaiswal gets some match practice in the English conditions before the first Test," he added.
Furthermore, if reports are to be believed, Abhimanyu Easwaran is likely to lead the India A side, whereas the likes of Harshit Rana, Karun Nair, Ishan Kishan are being considered to be part of the squad.
