Cummins, Buttler likely to return for IPL

Former England captain Jos Buttler and South African fast bowler Gerald Coetzee are set to rejoin the Gujarat Titans (GT) squad on Wednesday, May 14, ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 resumption on May 17.

Buttler and Coetzee were the only two overseas players from the GT camp to have temporarily left India after the IPL was suspended for a week on May 9, following cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the rest of GT's overseas contingent - Rashid Khan, Sherfane Rutherford, Kagiso Rabada, and Karim Janat — remained in India with the squad.

Rutherford, however, has been named in the West Indies' ODI squad for the upcoming series against England, scheduled from May 29 to June 3.

This series clashes with the IPL 2025 playoff stage. England are yet to announce their squad for the same, but Buttler is expected to be in contention.

Meanwhile, Australian stars Pat Cummins and Travis Head are also likely to rejoin the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) squad before the league resumes.

Like others, they had left India after the temporary suspension of the tournament. The decision to resume the season was made on May 11, following a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan.

Despite SRH being out of playoff contention, with just three wins in 11 matches and currently placed eighth on the points table, Cummins — the SRH captain — is expected to return along with Head.

Both players were named in Australia's Test squad for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa, which will take place at Lord's from June 11.

"Pat has a responsibility as captain of the franchise and is looking at returning," Cummins' manager Neil Maxwell told News Corp on Tuesday.

Cricket Australia's Head of National Teams, Ben Oliver, acknowledged the complexity of the situation: "It's an extreme situation, and we'll work with players on their individual decisions to return to India or not over the next two days."

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