IPL-bound Australian players might miss white-ball matches against Pakistan

A few Australian players might miss out on the white-ball fixtures during their upcoming tour of Pakistan. Cricket Australia (CA) has said that they can't release the contracted players for the Indian Premier League (IPL) till April 6, 2022. 

The players can then join the cash-rich league if they give a miss to the white-ball series in Pakistan. 

"None of the contracted players will be available for the IPL before April 6, whether they are playing in the white-ball series (vs Pakistan) or not," a spokesman for the CA told Cricbuzz on Monday. 

Australia are slated to play three ODIs and one T20I in Pakistan from March 29 to April 5.

"There is a bit of optics involved here," an official from a franchise, which has a top Australian cricketer in the squad, told Cricbuzz. "The CA would not permit their contracted players to participate in the IPL before April 5 but the players would come here and complete the required bio-security protocols meanwhile."

The Australian players who are part of IPL franchises are Pat Cummins, Matthew Wade (Gujarat Titans), Nathan Coulter-Nile (Rajasthan Royals), Nathan Ellis (Punjab Kings), Riley Meredith (Mumbai Indians), Sean Abbott (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Pat Cummins (Kolkata Knight Riders), Jason Behrendorff (Royals Challengers Bangalore), Daniel Sams (Mumbai Indians), Josh Hazlewood (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Mitchell Marsh (Delhi Capitals), David Warner (Delhi Capitals), Glenn Maxwell (retained, Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Marcus Stoinis (retained, Lucknow Super Giants).