"Few people who had earlier committed to this aren’t with the ECB now" - Arun Dhumal opens up on England players leaving before IPL 2024 playoffs

IPL chairman Arun Dhumal said the T20 World Cup-bound England players prematurely leaving the IPL 2024 before the playoffs was a consequence of changes in personnel in the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Several English players left their respective IPL franchises to join the national squad for the upcoming T20I series at home against Pakistan, starting May 22.

The decision to leave the IPL midway had fans and experts divided, with the teams in the playoffs losing key players.

Speaking to Sportstar, Arun Dhumal confirmed that there was a commitment given that the English players would be available throughout the IPL season but a change of guard at the ECB led to the unfortunate circumstances.

"It was given as a commitment that they will be available for the entire tournament. It was indeed very unfortunate with the way things happened this time around. We have had good discussions with the ECB and hopefully, it won’t happen again in the future. A few people who had earlier committed to this aren’t with the ECB now, but ideally, even if there was a change of guard, things should have happened the way it was planned," said Dhumal.

He added:

"Unfortunately, there was some change of guard at the ECB and so, the new people who took over did not know about the bilateral series they had planned, and they wanted to put their best team there. Due to that, the confusion arose."

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar even called for penalties for players leaving midway through the IPL season.

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"Don’t think apart from minor hiccups, there’s anything to worry about" - Arun Dhumal

Arun Dhumal further confirmed that the players and the respective boards are always aligned, resulting in the consistent success of the IPL over the years.

While several England players have left the IPL in the past week or two, 3 of the 4 playoff teams have suffered the most with the loss of key pieces. KKR lost their tone-setter with the bat in Phil Salt and RCB will miss the Will Jacks, who was central to their turnaround in the second half of IPL 2024.

Meanwhile, RR will miss their talismanic opener and England white-ball captain Jos Buttler.

"We have always discussed with all the boards regarding the player availability and in case a player needs to go back due to genuine reasons, we definitely allow that. They have been quite cooperative so far, so all the players and the Board are aligned with the success of this tournament and love being part of the IPL. We are also very thankful to the other Boards who have been equal partners in this IPL. Everyone understands their responsibilities. I don’t think apart from minor hiccups, there’s anything to worry about," concluded Dhumal.

The IPL 2024 playoffs kicked off last night with KKR annihilating SRH in Qualifier 1 by 8 wickets.

RR and RCB will clash in the win-or-go-home Eliminator today at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.