Stokes, Woakes, Buttler to miss Ireland ODIs

Ben Stokes will be available to his new IPL franchise, Rising Pune Supergiants, for the full six-week group stage of the competition, after he was given clearance to miss England's two-match ODI series against Ireland that takes place in early May.

Stokes, who was yesterday signed by Supergiants for USD 2.16 million, a record fee for an overseas player, will instead be required to return to England on May 14 to prepare for three ODIs against South Africa in late May that serve as a warm-up for the ICC Champions Trophy.

Jos Buttler, who has been retained by Mumbai Indians after playing in the 2016 IPL, and Chris Woakes, who was acquired by Kolkata Knight Riders for USD 625,000, have also been cleared to take part in the tournament until May 14. Should their teams finish in the qualification slots, it would mean missing out on the knockout stages as well as the final, which is scheduled to take place on May 21 in Hyderabad.

As anticipated, England's captain, Eoin Morgan, will be recalled to England duty sooner than his team-mates, with his availability for his new franchise, Kings XI Punjab, limited to the first month of competition. He is due to return to England on May 1 to prepare for the Ireland matches that take place at Bristol and Lord's on May 5 and 7.

Jason Roy, who was picked up by Gujarat Lions for USD 150000, will also return to England on May 1, as too will Sam Billings, retained by Delhi Daredevils, who may see the Ireland matches as a good opportunity to press his claims for a starting berth in the Champions Trophy, following a decent showing on the recent tour of India.

Tymal Mills, who was signed by Bangalore Royal Challengers for USD 1.8 million and who is limited to T20 matches due to a congenital back condition, is available to his franchise for the duration of the tournament, as is his fellow Sussex seamer, Chris Jordan, who seems unlikely to be back on England duty until the South Africa T20s in late June.