South Africa orders cricketers to prioritise World Test Championship final against Australia over IPL

South Africa will order their players out of the IPL more than two weeks before the World Test Championship final, as Australia's biggest stars weigh up their options.

Indian cricket officials are pressing ahead with plans to restart the tournament on Sunday, 10 days after it was postponed because of the conflict with Pakistan.

Most Australian players are now expected to return to India and play in the final rounds with beefed-up security, after arriving home on the weekend.

IPL to resume amid ceasefire Photo shows Mitchell Starc and Alyssa Healy push their bags through the airport. Australian players who flew home last weekend could be back in India in a matter of days as the Indian Premier League prepares to resume after a ceasefire between India and Pakistan was announced.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said this week his country had only "paused" military action with Pakistan, and that any terror attack would be met with a "fitting response".

The IPL has moved its final to June 3, just eight days out from the World Test Championship final between Australia and South Africa at Lord's.

Cricket Australia has left any decision up to players, indicating this week it would approve a No-Objection Certificate for anyone to see out the tournament.

But South African officials confirmed on Thursday they intended to do the opposite, refusing to extend their NoCs beyond the IPL's original end date of May 25.

"It is an individual decision, obviously, to return or to play or continue," South Africa's director of cricket Enoch Nkwe said.

Green back in Australian Test squad Photo shows Cameron Green holds up his bat Australia is welcoming back a trio of big names, including star all-rounder Cameron Green and captain Pat Cummins, for the World Test Championship decider against South Africa and the ensuing tour of the Caribbean.

"But one thing we've made clear, and we are finalising that with IPL and BCCI, is sticking to our original plan when it comes to the WTC preparations, obviously with May 26 being the latest for the Test guys to come back."

A May 25 exit would rule South Africa's Test players out of the dying stages of the IPL regular season, as well as all finals.

South Africa has eight players from the Test Championship final squad playing in the IPL, including Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Aiden Markram and Marco Jansen.

Most of their players remain firmly in finals contention.

Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Travis Head, Josh Inglis and Josh Hazlewood are the five members of Australia's Test squad featuring in the IPL.

Cummins will fly back to India on Friday and play out the season with Sunrisers Hyderabad, with Head expected to join him.

The Sunrisers are out of finals contention and play their last game on May 26.

Starc and Inglis, whose IPL teams both remain in contention, are yet to publicly declare whether they will return.

AAP

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