WELLINGTON,  (Reuters) – Australia’s cricket tour of  New Zealand next year has been cut short in order for players  to play at least some part in the lucrative Indian Twenty20  league, according to a local media report  yesterday. The Australians were scheduled to tour New Zealand from  late February to early April but the tour would now finish by  March 31, the Dominion Post newspaper reported.
  
The tour will include just two Tests instead of the three  traditionally played at that time of year.  
The early finish would allow players to play the final  three weeks of the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL),  before the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies starts on  April 30, the newspaper said citing unnamed New Zealand Cricket  sources.  

The IPL pushed back its own start date to allow the  competition to run from March 12-April 25 and ensure it was  completed before the Twenty20 World Cup began.  

Six senior New Zealand players, all of whom have IPL  contracts, only signed their national contracts on Friday after  “scheduling conflicts” between the IPL and New Zealand’s  programme had been clarified, NZC said. IPL player payments are  made on a pro-rata basis, reducing the money paid to players  when they miss parts of the tournament.  
New Zealand are to host Pakistan for three Tests later this  year before Bangladesh tour next February.
  
Australia arrive in New Zealand in late February after West  Indies’ conclude the limited overs portion of their tour in  Sydney on Feb. 23.