IPL 2022: Uncertainity over availability of England, Australia players despite BCCI finialising auction list

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday released the final list of 590 players who are all set to go under the hammer at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction on February 12 and 13. The final list consists of 228 capped, 355 uncapped and 7 players from the associate nations.

Despite the BCCI confirming the final list of players to go under the hammer, there remains uncertainty over the availability of some players from England and Australia. The board is yet to inform the ten franchises about the exact duration of the foreign players' participation in IPL 2022.

There are doubts over the availability of some England and Australia players due to international commitments. The upcoming season of the IPL is expected to begin in the last week of March, however, Australia will tour Pakistan in the same month with the white-ball series beginning from March 29. The matches will end on April 05.

If the likes of David Warner, Marcus Stoinis, Steve Smith and Pat Cummins among others are part of the tour, they will also miss at least the first week of action in IPL 2022. England, on the other hand, have a three-match home series against New Zealand beginning from June 02 and the ECB might call back a few Test-bound players in May to prepare for the Test series.

Also Read: Warner, Iyer, Rabada and 7 others part of marquee set at IPL 2022 mega auction, see full list

A number of top England players including the likes of Ben Stokes and Joe Root have already not registered from the IPL 2022 mega auction in the wake of their Ashes 2021-22 debacle as they aim to focus on improving in the longest format of the game.

A franchise official stated that the ten teams would have liked to know the availability status of the overseas players with the final auction list, however, the BCCI is yet to provide information on players' participation. The official said knowing the availability status of players helps in planning in a better manner.

"In an ideal scenario, we would have preferred to know the availability with the auction list," a franchise official was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. "It helps in planning but there were occasions we were given this crucial the night before the auction," he added.

Also Read: 370 Indians, 220 overseas stars up for grabs: Complete list of 590 players for IPL 2022 mega auction

The BCCI has informed the teams that it is working on providing the final availability details of the overseas players, which will be provided in due course ahead of the mega auction.

"The IPL 2022 Player Auction Rules and the availability details of Overseas players along with the update on the players who have been reported or banned for suspect bowling action will be sent in due course," the BCCI wrote to the franchises.