This week India’s captain, Rohit Sharma has revealed that some Indian IPL players will potentially be leaving the IPL 2023 early.

With India qualifying for the World Test Championship final, the nation is faced with a difficult scheduling clash. The IPL 2023 runs until May 28, and just over a week later, India is due to play Australia in the World Test Championship final at the Oval in London, United Kingdom.

The answer: Indian IPL players will leave the IPL 2023 early. We look at what India have recently announced, and the implications this will have on the IPL 2023.

Why Indian IPL Players Will Leave the IPL 2023 Early

The challenge with India’s schedule is that all but one of their Test players—Cheteshwar Pujara—will be playing in the IPL 2023. These are very different conditions to those found in England, let alone an entirely different format of cricket.

However, Rohit Sharma has announced that India will be combating this challenge, by sending players over to England early. These will be the Indian IPL players that play for teams who are eliminated from the IPL 2023 after the group stage.

The group stage of the IPL 2023 finishes on the 21st of May, leaving 16 days before the beginning of the World Test Championship final. At this point, there will be six IPL teams eliminated from the competition, no doubt containing a good handful of Indian IPL players.

Rather than waiting for the playoffs to be completed, these players will be sent over to the UK early to acclimatise to the conditions.

Rohit Sharma Assures Tight Scheduling Won’t Be a Problem for India

Rohit Sharma has spoken out about the decision to send Indian IPL players over to England early, saying,

“I don’t think it will be a huge problem… I believe in preparation and preparations will be key for us come the finals. Around 21st May, there will be six teams who will possibly be out of IPL playoffs contention and so whichever players are available, we will try and find time to get them to the UK early as possible and get some time and we will monitor as much as possible.”

Sharma went on to acknowledge that there are several challenges India faces over the next few months. The IPL 2023 will be demanding for Indian players, given the home and away structure that requires a lot of travel.

Add in a long injury list, and India will be looking to manage not only their players’ ability to perform in English conditions, but also their ability to perform in June full stop.