There is no question that the Indian Premier League (IPL) has turned out to be a big blessing for local Indian cricketers in terms of showing their talents. Yet, the IPL is all about the overseas players.
Their performances entertain the spectators to a higher level. And the franchises keep their eyes open to some of the major overseas T20 stars.
If there were no limitations, franchises would fill their teams with these foreign players. But the IPL Governing Council (IPL GC) has limited the number of overseas players a team can have in their squad.
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So, what is the exact number of overseas players that IPL teams can have?
Okay, let’s search for the answer. Are you with me?
How many overseas players an IPL team can buy in an auction?
First, let’s find out the maximum possible number of overseas players that each team can have for the IPL auction.
An IPL franchise has a limit of 25 players only during a season. However, it is only the eight overseas cricketers who are allowed among them.
Thus a team can buy eight foreign players during the mega auction, which takes place every three to four years, or the mini-auction, which takes place every year between two mega auctions.
If a foreign player gets injured before or during the season, the team can replace him with another overseas player. But the maximum number cannot be surpassed.
Additionally, the franchises can also trade overseas stars during the off-season period within the limit.
So the squad has eight overseas players, how many are there in the playing XI?
It is understandable if some teams want to play all eight foreign players. However, they can only name four foreign players in the playing XI at the maximum. The other seven should be Indian players.
So the teams have to select carefully their four overseas cricketers while keeping the balance of the side intact. Even if the impact player is used, the team cannot have more than four overseas players in a match.
If they want to utilize the overseas players as an impact substitute, they can only have three foreign players in the playing XI. They can bring the fourth player during the match from the three foreigners or the seven Indian players in the playing XI.
The same applies to the regular fielding substitution. A team cannot have more than four foreign players on the field at a time.
Can teams name fewer than four overseas players in the XI?
Yes. It is not a rule to have four foreigners in the playing XI.
A team can decide to use only two or three overseas stars, and that’s just fine. And there are even a couple of past occurrences when IPL teams had only three foreigners in their XI.
