Follow UsThe Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council (GC) on May 14 (Wednesday) approved the use of temporary replacements by the teams to cover for overseas stars that might not play in the extended league.
The IPL, which was suspended on May 9 due to worsening relations between India and Pakistan, will now resume on May 17 and go beyond its original schedule, finishing on June 3 instead of May 25.
Given that Pakistan Super League (PSL) will also be restarting on May 17, here are the top five contenders available to be signed as temporary replacements in IPL 2025.
Troubled by injury for most of his young career, Dilshan Madushanka shot to limelight in the 2022 Asia Cup, where he impressed the world with his pace and swing. After following that up with another good showing in the 2023 ODI World Cup, he got signed by the Mumbai Indians, but the 24-year-old is a free agent as of now in 2025.
Recently, playing for Sri Lanka A, the left-arm quick took two four-wicket hauls against Ireland A and Afghanistan A respectively in the UAE. Thus, he merits an easy entry into IPL 2025 to replace any pacer that is unavailable due to scheduling issues. For now, he looks a perfect fit to replace Marco Jansen in the Punjab Kings’ set-up.
Similar to Madushanka, South Africa’s Ottniel Baartman is also a pacer, although right-handed. The Proteas pacer is currently a free agent, having not been picked up in the PSL or the South African World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023-25 squad.
The 32-year-old has been part of the SA20 and, in its latest edition, he picked up 11 wickets at an average of 21.6 and an economy rate of 7.71, which makes him a good pick to replace someone like Josh Hazlewood.
The Sunrisers Eastern Cape pacer has an experience of 97 T20s, picking up 141 wickets in it at an average of 18.18 and a strike rate of 15.
After the bowlers comes an all-rounder, Australian Matthew Short . The Aussie, who has had a prior contract in the IPL with Punjab Kings, is currently a free agent with no PSL contract burden on him. It was hard to believe that despite a BBL hundred and six wickets with his off-break bowling, Short remained unsold in the IPL auction.
The 29-year-old has experience of 125 T20s, where he has scored 2982 runs and also picked up 48 wickets, making him a perfect candidate to replace someone like Aiden Markram at the top for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) or Will Jacks of Mumbai Indians (MI).
Journeyman Richard Gleeson last appeared in SA20 for Sunrisers Eastern Cape, picking up 14 wickets at an average of 24.42 and an economy rate of 8.07 for the side that made it to the final of the league.
The 37-year-old has previously featured for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2024 where he played two games, picking a solitary wicket. The Englishman has experience of 115 T20s, taking 129 wickets in them.
He could be an ideal fit for someone like Kagiso Rabada for Gujarat Titans (GT) or Lungi Ngidi for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) during the playoffs.
The lanky pacer from New Zealand, William O’Rourke, who went unsold in the IPL 2025 auction, after being listed at INR 1.5 Cr as the base price, could eventually play in the league as a temporary replacement. Almost 2 meters tall, O’Rourke brings with him unique pace and bounce-generation ability, even on dead wickets.
The 23-year-old has already proved his credentials in the longest format. Given that he has experience of 38 T20s, in which he has taken 37 wickets at an average of 26 and an economy rate of less than 8, O’Rourke could be an ideal replacement for someone like Hazlewood or Jansen, although he cannot bat like the latter.