James Wear, New Zealand Cricket's GM Commercial, announced on Monday that New Zealand players have been allowed to take part in the 2019 edition of the league for its entire duration.
This comes as a welcome news for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after a report emerged from the Mumbai Mirror stating that Cricket Australia (CA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had informed the BCCI that their players will not be available to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after May 1 in the league's 2019 edition.
At a special interaction arranged by Star Sports, the official broadcasters of the Indian Premier League, Wear gave the green signal regarding the New Zealand players.
"One of the things New Zealand Cricket has decided is to allow its players to play in the Indian Premier League right till the end of the IPL," said Wear to the select group of reporters at the event.
Explaining the reason behind this decision, Wear said, "One of the things New Zealand Cricket has decided is to allow its players to play in the Indian Premier League right till the end of the IPL."
As many as 11 players from New Zealand including their captain Kane Williamson and national team regulars Trent Boult and Tim Southee have been regular features in the IPL.
The 2019 edition of the IPL is expected to start on March, 29 with the final slated on May 19 and the worry regarding players' participation arises due to its scheduling proximity to the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup which starts from May 30.
Although neither the BCCI nor the IPL governing body has made any official announcement in this regard, the report by Mumbai Mirror states that the franchises have been unofficially informed about such an eventuality.
Meanwhile, there are also reports that Virat Kohli had suggested that the Indian fast bowlers in the fray for World Cup selection be rested for the IPL in a meeting last month with the Committee of Administrators (CoA) members Vinod Rai Diana Edulji.
It is also believed that the skipper along with coach Ravi Shastri had appealed, in the same meeting, to prepone the IPL in order to give adequate rest and preparation time for the Indian players ahead of the World Cup.
The same report from the Mumbai also stated that the availability of all the players from all cricket boards will be known after the players' auction in December which, they published, will be held in Jaipur on December 17 and 18.
