There will be a pool of talented players available in the IPL 2017 auction, which was originally scheduled for Saturday, but has been postponed to late February. All the eight teams will be looking to strengthen their squad by adding some quality players.
Yuvraj Singh believes Ben Stokes will earn mega deal
The eight franchises have already released some players, hence opening doors for new players. The pool of players available for IPL 2017 auction might not have been released, but there are some English cricketers such as Ben Stokes, Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan, Chris Jordan and Jason Roy, who have all agreed to be a part of the mega IPL 2017 auction.
However, the IPL franchises are in a spot of bother. Should they pick English players in the auction? England are set to host Ireland for a ODI series on May 5 and May 7, hence the England players are expected to be called back for international duty.
The England and Wales Cricket Board might not have a final call on the matter - who will play in IPL 2017 and who will have to come back for Ireland series? England coach Trevor Bayliss believes some of the players will be allowed to play while some will be called back. Those players called back will have to leave the IPL 2017 early.
"We'll have a look at that. Some might be able to stay and some might have to come back and play [against Ireland]. We'll look at it case by case, some guys will definitely benefit from playing IPL, but other guys are on the fringes trying to get into the team, it'll be good for them to play [against Ireland] and show us what they've got in ODI cricket," Bayliss told Sky Sports.
Though some of them are surely going to be called back, Bayliss believes that the English players will benefit in the future if they are picked in IPL 2017 auction.
"If they get picked, the experience they'll gain will put them in a good place going forward," Bayliss said.
Even if some of the England players are asked to stay back and play in the IPL, one wonders what will happen during the final stages of IPL 2017, which will end on May 21. England will host South Africa for a ODI series starting on May 24 just before the Champions Trophy.
Will the ECB allow England players to play in the IPL final or may be even the playoffs if their team reaches that stage? It is such questions, which the franchise will consider before shelling out big money on an English player.
