Virat Kohli, Mohd. Siraj, Sanju Samson to miss India's only warm-up game ahead of T20 World Cup? Know the reason why

The 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is in full swing with only the knockout matches remaining in the tournament. The hype has already been built for the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place in the USA and the West Indies from June 2. As a final preparation for the marquee event, all 20 participants will play warm-up matches starting from May 27.

Except for Team India, all other teams will get two practice matches which will allow them to know the conditions, adapt to them and build unity. India is allowed to play only one warm-up match against Bangladesh on June 1 as the playoff stage of IPL 2024 is pending and there is hardly a gap between the final and the World Cup.

The first batch of the Indian players – those who are not playing in the IPL final - are reported to reach the USA on May 25 at midnight. Captain Rohit Sharma, his deputy Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Shubman Gill and Khaleel Ahmed will be the first set of players to board the plane.

The second set of stars will arrive in New York on May 28, giving them less time to adjust to the atmosphere and conditions. This shows the possibility of the second-batch players being rested for the warm-up game, especially those who are part of the IPL's summit clash, which is scheduled to take place two days before their departure on May 26.  

Who all are likely to miss the warm-up match?

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) are the four teams that have qualified for the IPL 2024 playoffs. No players from SRH are part of the marquee event, but two from RCB - Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj - four from RR - Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Yuzvendra Chahal and Avesh Khan - and one from KKR - Rinku Singh – are Included in the World Cup squad.

RCB made one of the greatest comebacks in league history as they won their last six games to enter the playoffs. Their next game (Eliminator) is against RR on May 22. If they win the Eliminator, the next task will be Qualifier 2 on May 24. If RCB manage to reach the final, Kohli and Siraj will depart at midnight on May 27.

The same is the case with RR. Whichever team is eliminated in the Eliminator, those players can join Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid on the first flight to the US on May 25. Rinku Singh is not part of the main squad, so even if KKR reach the final, it won't be a problem.

If RCB or RR make it to the IPL final, those players can reach the USA only on May 29, which means they will only get a two-day rest before the warm-up game. Considering fatigue, workload management and the 9.5-hour time difference between the two countries, Team India is likely to rest the last batch of players ahead of their maiden clash against Ireland on June 5.