Five of the 10 England players contracted to Indian Premier League teams have been named in the squad for the one-day series against the West Indies.
Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks and Jamie Overton have all been included in a 16-man squad for the three ODIs that will kick off Harry Brook’s reign as white-ball captain.
The series, which starts at Edgbaston on 29 May, now directly clashes with the conclusion of the rescheduled IPL that was put on hold last week amid rising political tensions between India and Pakistan.
Jos Buttler plays for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (Photo: Getty)The IPL, which will restart on Saturday after a ceasefire between the two countries was brokered last weekend, was meant to finish on 25 May. This would have given England’s contingent time to return home for the opening match of the series in Birmingham four days later.
However, the nine-day IPL hiatus now sees the tournament finish on 3 June – the date of England’s final ODI against the West Indies at The Oval.
Five IPL players – Buttler, Bethell, Jacks, Overton and Phil Salt – are also included in England’s squad for the three Twenty20 matches against the same opposition that starts on 6 June.
The England & Wales Cricket Board had granted no-objection certificates (NOCs) to all 10 players signed up to IPL franchises based on the tournament’s original end date.
Now, it is hurriedly reassessing the situation after leaving it down to individual players whether to return to India or not. The clash is problematic given players who withdraw from deals are threatened with two-year bans from the tournament. It is unclear which players are returning to India.
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But it is likely the ECB will request their release by the date of the IPL’s original conclusion so they are available for a one-day series that is seen as an important step in reshaping the team under Brook following the first-round exit from February’s Champions Trophy that triggered Buttler’s resignation as captain.
An ECB statement released shortly after the squads were announced said: “We’re keen to support the IPL and the BCCI [Board of Control for Cricket in India] in getting the schedule up and running, and to facilitate players’ return should they choose to go back.
“No objection certificates have been granted based on the original IPL dates, so we’ll need to review any potential extensions, particularly in relation to any clash with the final white-ball squad.
“We’ll continue to work closely with the BCCI and the IPL as the situation develops.”
In terms of the five players who have been named in the ODI squad, Archer’s availability is not in question given his team – Rajasthan Royals – have no chance of qualifying for the play-offs and their final fixture is on 20 May.
However, Buttler, playing for top-of-the-table Gujarat Titans, Jacks, whose fourth-placed Mumbai Indians team have a chance of qualifying, and Bethell, whose Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise currently sit second, will all have difficult choices to make.
This may also apply to Overton because even though his Chennai Super Kings team have no chance of qualifying, their final group match is on 25 May, one day before the ODI series starts.
One notable absentee from both squads is another IPL player in all-rounder Liam Livingstone, whose England career now appears over after a poor winter that concluded in a Champions Trophy campaign in Pakistan where he failed to score more than 14 with that bat and took just three wickets in as many matches.
But his absence has created an opportunity for another spinning all-rounder in Liam Dawson, who has been included in the T20 squad in what is the 35-year-old’s first England call-up for three years.
England’s squads to face West Indies
ODI squad:
Harry Brook (Yorkshire) – captain Jofra Archer (Sussex) Gus Atkinson (Surrey) Tom Banton (Somerset) Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire) Jos Buttler (Lancashire) Brydon Carse (Durham) Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire) Tom Hartley (Lancashire) Will Jacks (Surrey) Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire) Jamie Overton (Surrey) Matthew Potts (Durham) Adil Rashid (Yorkshire) Joe Root (Yorkshire) Jamie Smith (Surrey)T20 squad:
Harry Brook (Yorkshire) – captain Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire) Tom Banton (Somerset) Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire) Jos Buttler (Lancashire) Brydon Carse (Durham) Liam Dawson (Hampshire) Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire) Will Jacks (Surrey) Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire) Jamie Overton (Surrey) Matthew Potts (Durham) Adil Rashid (Yorkshire) Phil Salt (Lancashire) Luke Wood (Lancashire) Read More Details
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