England men are set to take their strongest available squad to Pakistan for their short, tweaked tour, meaning some players could miss the Indian Premier League (IPL) knockout stages.
The short tour of Pakistan, which will involve T20 double-headers featuring both the men’s and women’s teams, received a tweak on Friday, with the matches moved from Karachi to Rawalpindi, and brought forward by a day to October 13 and 14.
England’s short white-ball tour of Bangladesh has been postponed until 2023 due to schedule congestion brought about by Covid-19, meaning that some England players will be involved in the IPL when it resumes in September.
Exactly which players will be involved is unclear, however. There were 14 England players contracted for this year’s competition, but Jofra Archer has been ruled out injured and more are likely to withdraw.
England’s all-format players face a desperately busy winter, with the T20 World Cup and Ashes – if it goes ahead and they agree to the conditions laid out by the Australian Government – following the IPL, from late October.
They face a tricky decision over whether to be involved. The picture is complicated by Ben Stokes’ indefinite absence from cricket and the fact that Jos Buttler’s wife Louise is due to give birth to their second child in September.
Sam Curran and Chris Woakes are also part of England’s plans in all formats, while Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali are currently in the Test side, too.
The white-ball only England players – Eoin Morgan (who has confirmed he is travelling), Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Sam Billings and Chris Jordan – seem far more like to travel to the UAE for the remainder of the IPL, which was postponed in April due to Covid-19.
There is a clash, however, between the two matches in Pakistan – England’s final World Cup preparation – and the IPL knockouts. The IPL Qualifier is on October 13 and the final on the 15th, making it impossible to participate in both.
England are expected to call their players to Pakistan. The question is particularly pertinent for those who play for Delhi Capitals (Tom Curran, Billings, Woakes) and Chennai Super Kings (Sam Curran and Moeen), with other teams facing an uphill battle to reach that stage of the tournament.
While the situation could be managed on a case-by-case basis, England would like a strong side in Pakistan.
