Australia places conditions on IPL release for top players

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Cricket Australia has informed players they will have to miss part of next year’s Indian Premier League if they are selected in the squad for the World Cup. The 12th edition of the lucrative Twenty20 league will be played between March 29 and May 19, having been brought forward because of the 50-overs World Cup which begins in England on May 30. Australian cricketers, who can earn more than $1 million for a stint in the league, must receive the permission of CA and the board on Thursday announced a series of conditions. All players granted permission to play would have to be available to play at the World Cup and on the Ashes tour of England that follows in August and September, the governing body said in a statement. Players involved in the Sheffield Shield final will only be released once that is concluded on April 1, while the 15 players selected to defend the World Cup will have to attend a mandatory training camp in early May and play warm-up matches. “It is a difficult period with the IPL being brought forward to accommodate the Cricket World Cup, and overlapping our domestic season,” CA’s Belinda Clark said. “We are committed to respecting the position of the Sheffield Shield, while ensuring Australia’s World Cup squad is well prepared for this critical world event, while also ensuring those that are fit to play have opportunity to participate in the IPL.