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IPL releases early season fixtures

Banned Australian duo's Indian Premier League sides to face off on day after Cricket Australia sanctions expire

David Warner and Steve Smith could play against one another the day after their bans from international cricket lapse following the release of the opening two weeks of Indian Premier League schedule.

The BCCI confirmed the dates and venues for the first 17 matches of this year's IPL on Tuesday, with the remaining fixtures to be released following confirmation of the dates of the forthcoming Indian general elections.

Should both players recover from respective elbow injuries in time and aren’t summoned for international duties, Warner could face Smith when Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Rajasthan Royals on March 29.

Their Cricket Australia suspensions lapse on March 28.

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The bans do not preclude them from playing in overseas T20 leagues, meaning Warner and Smith would also be free to play in their sides' IPL openers on March 24 against Kolkata Knight Riders and against Kings XI Punjab on March 25 respectively.

The tournament kicks off on March 23, an earlier start date than usual due to this year's World Cup.

Warner and Smith could also theoretically feature in the final two ODIs of Australia's five-match series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, to be played on March 29 and 31 in Dubai.

Both batsmen, who have been consigned to domestic T20 leagues around the globe and Premier Cricket back home after being handed 12-month bans for their involvement in the Cape Town ball-tampering plot, coincidentally underwent elbow surgery last month.

The pair suffered injuries in the Bangladesh Premier League.

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Warner was hopeful of resuming batting this month in a bid to be fit for the start of the IPL, but Smith was expected to be in an arm brace for six weeks as he recovered.

Smith and Warner were named to captain their IPL franchises last year but had their $2.4 million contracts torn up by the BCCI in the wake of the Newlands scandal.

Australia coach Justin Langer has previously flagged a return for the duo at this year's World Cup in the United Kingdom.

“We are obviously monitoring them very closely and we are hopeful they will be getting themselves fit and strong and putting their name up for selection," Langer told SEN. "It’s an exciting time coming up.”

The likes of Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch and Pat Cummins have opted against returning to the IPL this year.

There are questions over the availability of other leading Australia players for the tournament because of the ODI World Cup beginning late-May.

Fixtures for the first 17 games of IPL 2019 can be found here.