The schedule of the 10th edition of Indian Premier League is out and the first match is to be played on April 5th between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Already there is a growing hype for the tournament with the IPL auctions taking place on February 20.
On one hand, there are many foreign players who will be up for grabs in the auctions. On the other hand, two of the IPL sides have already got a big blow as two of their prime bowlers will not be taking part in the early stages of the tournament.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ Shakib Al Hasan and Sunrisers Hyderbad’s Mustafizur Rahman will not take part in the early part of the tournament due to their international assignments. Bangladesh will be touring Sri Lanka to play 2 Tests, 3 ODIs and 2 T20Is. The dates of the tour have not been announced yet but it is speculated that the tour will go on till the time IPL starts. It is believed that they will be leaving for the island nation on February 27th.
KKR are already dented with their star all-rounder Andre Russell being banned from playing cricket for the next one year. With Shakib also missing out in early part of the tournament, they will have to find someone who could replace such big shoes.
On the other hand, Mustafizur Rahman too played a significant role in Sunrisers’ triumph last year. He was among the top wicket-getters in the IPL last year. Hope their unavailability won’t affect the team’s performances.
