England Cricketers to Miss Remainder of IPL 2025 Due to Injuries and National Obligations
A large group of England cricketers will be missing the rest of IPL 2025 because of a mix of injuries and national team commitments. England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has instructed the players to report back by May 25 to get ready for the new ODI series against the West Indies, which is scheduled to start from May 29. These orders are applicable for major players such as Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Sam Curran, and Will Jacks. Also, Test captain Ben Stokes has decided to sit out the whole season to prioritize England's congested Test calendar, citing workload management and fitness concerns. Injuries have also added to the problem, with Brydon Carse being ruled out because of a toe injury he picked up during the ICC Champions Trophy. These have left IPL franchises struggling with unexpected roster changes during the critical playoff stage.
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Some England cricketers will not be traveling to India for the second half of IPL 2025. Jofra Archer, Sam Curran and Jamie Overton have all been ruled out of the remainder of the league. Archer is suffering from an injury that needs rest while Curran and Overton will not return as their franchise Chennai Super Kings has no intention of searching for replacements and is out of playoff contention. This implies that they will not be participating in the remaining matches of IPL.
Meanwhile Jos Buttler, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell are likely to arrive in India shortly to complete their IPL obligations. Buttler the erstwhile England white ball captain will be arriving in Ahmedabad on Wednesday night. Will Jacks representing Mumbai Indians is also likely to be available at Wankhede Stadium for net practice from Thursday. Royal Challengers Bengaluru all-rounder Liam Livingstone is also said to be on his flight heading to meet his team while Jacob Bethell is also en route to India. No definite update on Phil Salt's return has been made.
The final decision on which players are coming and going is done by both the England and Wales Cricket Board as well as by the respective IPL franchises. Some English players will fulfill their league commitments and some have opted out of the rest of the games. For instance Rajasthan Royals has confirmed that Archer is not coming back due to injury and not because their team no longer features in the playoff race. They are putting his fitness and recovery first.
Moeen Ali of Kolkata Knight Riders hasn't taken a final decision as yet regarding returning to India. His father stated that he would be knowing more in 24 hours. In the meanwhile England Cricket Board has recently announced an ODI squad under captain Harry Brook to play against West Indies at the beginning of June. The announced squad consists of Archer Bethell Buttler Jacks and Overton. As these fixtures conflict with the IPL playoffs such players will have to leave India once the league stage concludes on May 27.
IPL resumes in Bengaluru on May 17 after one week's interval. The knockout matches begin from May 29 and the final is on June 3. With a number of England's key players absenting themselves from the playoffs their respective teams will have to make do without them. Generally the combination of injuries national engagements and team plans results in not all England players being there in the finishing stages of IPL 2025.
