If English players actually leave before IPL 2024 playoffs, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals will be most affected.

New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reported in talks with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to keep the English players for the ongoing IPL 2024 playoffs, according to reports. The development comes in after it was made public that the England players will be returning back home for their bilateral series against Pakistan which serves as their preparation for the T20 World Cup 2024 in USA and West Indies next month.

Notably, the dates of England vs Pakistan T20I series and IPL 2024 playoffs are clashing. While the IPL 2024 knockouts start on May 21, England’s 4-match T20I series against Pakistan starts a day after. In that case, if English players are to return home for National Duty, then they will probably depart a week before, therefore missing their respective team’s final leg matches.

If this actually happens, Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knights Riders are going to suffer the most. Both Phil Salt (KKR) and Jos Buttler (RR) have played a crucial role in their respective teams’ performances in this edition. With 16 points each, KKR and RR are sitting one-two in the points table and need one more win each to officially qualify for the final four.

Earlier, ECB Director Rob Key informed that Buttler wants his T20 World Cup-bound players to return back for the Pakistan series. “I asked him (Buttler) very early on in the piece and said, ‘Look, as England captain, you’re obviously going to have this series against Pakistan. How do you see it?’

“And straightaway, he said, ‘No, no, I want to come back and start getting ready for the World Cup in that series that’s just before it’,” Key told ESPNcricinfo.