Indian Premier League overseas player ruling

The Indian Premier League has housed some of the world's biggest hitters and yet it abides by a strict overseas player ruling which limits the number of foreign participants in the league.

Implemented to protect the quality of the competition by catering for the best Indian players whilst preserving India's grassroots programmes and academies, we've dissected all of the details on the IPL's overseas ruling.

IPL overseas player ruling

The Indian Premier League's governing body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), set out rules on the assembly of squads which have been maintained since the inaugural season in 2008.

With franchises allowed to pick a maximum of 25 players for a season, the BCCI implemented an overseas player ruling which limits the amount of overseas players a team can select.

The restrictions were introduced in an attempt to prioritise Indian players and promote homegrown talent, but not at a detriment to enticing the world's best players.

How many overseas players can play for one IPL team?

Each IPL franchise is permitted to select a maximum of eight overseas players in their squad.

Of those eight, only four can be selected in the starting XI. The other seven starting berths are occupied by those of Indian nationality. The four-player ruling is maintained with substitutes: a local player cannot be replaced by an overseas player in a match.

This is also the case with the IPL's Impact Player ruling. Should a team already have four overseas players in their XI, the Impact Player - which is essentially a tactical substitution - must be homegrown.

IPL two-season ban

Ahead of the 2025 campaign, the BCCI introduced a new ruling which stipulates any overseas player who makes themselves unavailable for an IPL season without a legitimate reason after being purchased in the auction must serve a two-year ban from the league.

This decision was made at the request of all 10 franchises who had grown increasingly irate at overseas players making late withdrawals from the competition.

It's hoped the new ruling will act as a deterrent to players dropping out of the IPL at short notice, and the BCCI have made it mandatory for players to register for mega auctions if they wish to be on the market for the subsequent mini auctions.

Why was Harry Brook banned from participating in the IPL for two seasons?

England star Harry Brook opted to withdraw from the 2025 IPL season to prioritise his commitment to his country, despite being signed by the Delhi Capitalis for INR 6.25 crore (£590,000 approx.) at the mega-auction last November.

As a result, Brook is now ineligible to play in the IPL until 2027.

The only exception to the two-year suspension is if a player suffers "an injury/medical condition, which will have to be confirmed by the [player's] home board".