The Indian Premier League has revised its rules to allow temporary replacement players for the remainder of the tournament.
The rule change follows the suspension of the league for a week during tensions between India and Pakistan, with a number of players unlikely to return to the competition when it restarts on 17 May.
England’s Jamie Overton (Chennai Super Kings) and Australia batter Jake Fraser-McGurk (Delhi Capitals) have chosen not to play in the remainder of the tournament, which will now finish with the final on 3 June.
Overton, who has played three games for Chennai this season, has been selected in England’s squad for the three-match one-day international series against West Indies from 29 May.
Jos Buttler (Gujarat Titans), Jacob Bethell (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Will Jacks (Mumbai Indians) and Jofra Archer (Rajasthan Royals) have also been selected for the series, with their situations “under review” by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Rajasthan and Chennai cannot qualify for the knockout stages that begin on 29 May, with their campaigns finishing on 20 and 25 May respectively, but Gujarat, Bengaluru and Mumbai all remain in contention for the tournament’s second stage.
Fraser-McGurk has withdrawn for personal reasons and will be replaced by Bangladesh seamer Mustafizur Rahman.
The rules previously stated that sides could not sign replacement players after the conclusion of their 12th game of the season, with four of the league’s 10 teams having passed that number.
Replacement players signed after the IPL’s resumption will not be eligible for retention in the player draft for next season.
