In yet another major blow for IPL teams, members of England's T20 World Cup squad will not be available for the playoffs in the 14th season of the IPL should their teams qualify. Of the ten players that will take part in the competition, only RCB's George Carton isn't a part of England's T20 WC squad. The franchisee who will be most impacted by the unavailability of England players in the playoffs is MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings. The three-time champions are currently placed in the second spot in the points table after having registered 5 wins in 7 games, and the likes of Sam Curran and Moeen Ali are a vital part of their set-up.
England are due to play two T20Is in Pakistan on October 14 and 15 and will arrive in the country on October 9 to prepare. The matches in Rawalpindi are viewed as the first part of the build-up to England's World Cup campaign - the second will be two warm-up games in the UAE - and therefore the team's management want their full squad available. As such, the England players' IPL commitments will end at the conclusion of the group stages on October 8. The England tour to Pakistan clashes with the latter stages of the IPL, which begin on October 10 with Qualifier 1. The Eliminator and Qualifier 2 then take place on October 11 and 13 respectively. The IPL final takes place on October 15. As it stands, franchises that qualify will not have any English World Cup players available for those matches although there is the possibility that teams could ask for special dispensation to keep their players longer.
