In the early seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was in no mood of allowing its players to play in the cash-rich league. However, the scenario took a drastic turn when several England players were signed by franchises at 2017 auctions and they have become an integral part of the teams. However, many of them will have to leave the tournament midway in 2018 in order to fulfill their international commitments.
A total of four English cricketers will have an early exit from the ongoing 11th edition of IPL and they are Chris Woakes (RCB), Mark Wood (CSK), Ben Stokes (RR) and Moeen Ali (RCB). England will face Pakistan in a two-match Test series, starting on May 24.
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Considering the fact that the ECB will recall these players at least a week before the start of Test series, these four might leave the tournament by May 17 – the last week of IPL’s league stage. While Stokes, Woakes and Wood are confirmed selection in England Test squad, Moeen Ali’s selection is still under threat. For the first time in his Test career, he warmed the bench in a Test match after he was dropped from the playing XI for the second Test against New Zealand.
Talking of IPL performances of these players, Woakes was given the preference by skipper Virat Kohli but he failed to make a mark and got dropped from the playing XI. Wood has played just one match so far and that too was the tournament opener and was dropped after he leaked 49 runs with no success. Moeen Ali also made his debut for RCB in the game against SRH on Monday.
Stokes, the costliest foreign players in IPL auction 2018, has been a regular part of playing XI but has failed to impress. He is yet to come up with a match-winning performance for his side.
Apart from these four English cricketers, Akila Dananjaya, Sri Lankan spinner who is a part of MI, would also have an early exit from IPL to feature in the three-match Test series in West Indies which starts on June 6.
