IPL 2024: Josh Hazelwood available from May; Limited availability for England, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh cricketers

333 players will go under the hammer at the IPL Auction 2024 to be held in Dubai.

Josh Hazlewood will take part in the Sheffield Shield before traveling to India for IPL.

New Delhi: Cricket Australia has made their players fully available in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), except pacer Josh Hazlewood, who will participate in the Sheffield Shield. Hazlewood is available from the first week of May. Besides Australia, the cricket boards of South Africa, Afghanistan, New Zealand and West Indies have confirmed their availability for the entire IPL.

The BCCI has decided that IPL 2024 will start on March 22 and continue till the end of May. Having said that, the dates will be finalized after checking the upcoming dates of the Lok Sabha elections. However, players from England, Ireland, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will not be fully available for the entire IPL.

For England players, their availability is subject to the ECB’s summer program in connection with the T20 World Cup in June. Mustafizur Rahman, if picked by a team, will be available from March 22 to May 11 (as indicated by BCB to BCCI), while Irish pacer Joshua Little has been granted special leave by Cricket Ireland for IPL. The Gujarat Titans pacer will be available for the entire tournament.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will play Bangladesh in the second Test from March 30 to April 3. Players in the Lankan Test squad will be available thereafter. However, players like Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Matheesha Pathirana and Dushmantha Chameera will be fully available for IPL 2024 as they will not be playing in the longer format.

The BCB has also informed BCCI that they will not release pacers Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam for the IPL 2024. Both Taskin and Shoriful, along with Rahman, are the only three players from Bangladesh who have registered for the IPL 2024 auction.