The Australian captain’s summer has been marred by a niggling back issue and he is yet to take to the field since the Adelaide Test in December, which is also the only game of professional cricket he has played since August. But Cummins has made his way to India and the positive news emerging out of the Sunrisers camp is that their regular skipper’s fitness is tracking well, although he missed the tournament opener against RCB.
Josh Hazlewood – Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Hazlewood is set for his fourth season in red, blue and gold and has arrived in Bengaluru earlier this week. As per RCB’s coach Andy Flower he is ‘looking fit’, but like Cummins, he too sat out of the opener at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium. Hazlewood was a key cog of the side that ended RCB’s IPL title drought last year with 22 wickets in 12 games but has since missed the entire Australian summer with hamstring and Achilles injuries. Given his experience and record, the side will be desperate to put him on the field for as many games as they can in their title defence.
Mitchell Starc – Delhi Capitals
Much like the other two members of the ‘Big Three’ of Australian pace attack, Starc too is unavailable for the initial games of the tournament. But unlike Cummins and Hazlewood, he is yet to make the trip to India. After coming in firing line of critical comments online, Starc revealed on social media he is ‘rehabbing and managing’ an elbow and shoulder injury but is committed to joining DC later in the season. The 36-year-old had pushed through all five Ashes Tests before turning up for the Sydney Sixers for five games in his first BBL appearance in over a decade but hasn’t played professional cricket in over two months.
Cameron Green – Kolkata Knight Riders
Green broke Starc’s record to become the most expensive overseas player at an IPL auction with KKR’s winning bid of A$4.27m. But with the price tag comes the added pressure of performance and it is a given that the allrounder will be under scrutiny the next two months. Green is returning to the IPL after a year off and will be keen to revive the memories of his first season, where he had a solid outing with the bat for the Mumbai Indians that earned him a big paycheck in a trade to RCB the next year. This Aussie summer was a lean one for Green but he finished it with a century in WA’s last Shield game.
Travis Head – Sunrisers Hyderabad
Head is back for a third season with SRH, where he forms a dreaded opening partnership with Abhishek Sharma. The left-hander had delivered for the Orange Army in Sunrisers’ run to the final in 2024 by scoring over 500 runs at a strike rate just under 200. Those numbers are hard to match but his last season’s return still make for a good reading and the side will be expecting nothing less from the South Australian again.
Cooper Connolly – Punjab Kings
The left-handed spin allrounder is ready for his maiden stint in the IPL after being fetched by the Ricky Ponting-coached Punjab Kings in last December’s player auction for A$510k. Now an all-format international, the West Australian will be taking confidence from another productive Big Bash season, finishing as the Perth Scorchers’ leading wicket-taker in BBL|15 after sharing the player of the tournament award with Glenn Maxwell the year before. He was also named the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year by Cricket Australia.
Tim David – Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Power-hitter David has been one of the best lower-order batters in the IPL since his breakout season for Mumbai in 2022 and returns for the champions RCB once again. He will be hurting after missing last season’s final victory over Punjab with injury with Romario Shepherd coming in and filling his role. It will be interesting to see if David makes his way further up the RCB batting order, as he has done for Australia in recent times.
Mitch Marsh – Lucknow Super Giants
Marsh’s switch to the Justin Langer-coach Lucknow worked wonders last season with the big-hitting West Australian smashing 627 runs to finish with the fifth-most for the tournament. Marsh hit six 50s and a century (117) in a dominant campaign that saw him use the Impact Player Sub rule to his advantage, limiting his time in the field and maximising it in the middle.
Marcus Stoinis – Punjab Kings
Stoinis returned to Punjab last season after seven seasons at different franchises and became an important finisher for Ricky Ponting’s side as they reached the final. While his contribution was limited in the decider (he didn’t enter the game until the 17th over of the unsuccessful chase) he struck at 186 across the season and recorded five not outs from his 11 innings. It’s a big tournament for the 36-year-old.
Matt Short – Chennai Super Kings
A huge opportunity for Short to press his claim for higher honours after being dropped from Australia’s T20 World Cup squad at the end of January. He was picked up by the Chennai Super Kings and should be a good chance to play as the side’s main spinning allrounder. Short admitted on the Unplayable Podcast he was a little surprised to be selected for this tournament with his only previous matches in the IPL coming for Punjab back in 2023.
Mitch Owen – Punjab Kings
Owen’s breakout BBL|14 campaign launched the Tasmanian into maiden IPL contract last season, but his sole match as a replacement player for Punjab resulted in a second-ball duck. Now on deck for the entire tournament, Owen will be keen to put an underwhelming BBL|15 behind him with some big runs in the highest-scoring league in the world.
Josh Inglis – Lucknow Super Giants
A big coup for Lucknow, Inglis makes the switch from Punjab where his 11 matches yielded 278 runs at a strike rate of 163 last season, which included 39 off 23 in the final. It was a big A$1.49m payday for the WA wicketkeeper who will now be expected to perform as one of Lucknow’s most expensive recruits, however given his captain is fellow ‘keeper Rishabh Pant, it’s unlikely we’ll see Inglis given the gloves this season.
Ben Dwarshuis – Punjab Kings
Dwarshuis comes in for his first IPL campaign and joins forces with head coach Ricky Ponting and several other Australians on the roster. He’s enjoyed somewhat of a breakthrough past 12 months on the international stage, playing lots of ODI and T20I cricket for Australia and comes into the IPL with one of the best bowling records in the Big Bash in recent times.
Xavier Bartlett – Punjab Kings
Another one of the five Aussies in Punjab, the quick is back with the Kings after playing his maiden IPL season for the franchise last year. Bartlett got four outings in that first stints, taking two wickets at an expensive economy of 9.6. He will certainly be eyeing a bigger impact, but his opportunities might again be limited given the cap of four on overseas players in the XI.