Cliff Notes – Buttler, Bethell, Jacks face club vs country dilemma
- Jos Buttler, Jacob Bethell, and Will Jacks may miss the IPL 2025 playoffs due to their inclusion in England’s ODI squad against West Indies.
- The ECB’s commitment for player availability was based on the original IPL schedule, now disrupted by the tournament’s rescheduling to June 3.
Buttler, Bethell, Jacks face club vs country dilemma
Jos Buttler, Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks’ availability for the rearranged IPL 2025 playoffs is in doubt after they were named in England’s ODI squad for a series against West Indies.
England’s players left the IPL when the tournament was suspended last week after cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan but are expected to return ahead of the league’s resumption on Saturday. But the new dates leave Buttler (Gujarat Titans), Bethell (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) and Jacks (Mumbai Indians) facing a clash between club and country.
The ECB made a commitment before November’s mega auction that centrally-contracted England players would be fully available for the IPL in 2025, which meant Bethell was not included in their Test squad to face Zimbabwe from May 22. But that commitment covered the IPL’s original dates, and the final has now been pushed back to June 3.
England named a 16-man squad on Tuesday for their three-match ODI series against West Indies, which starts on May 29. The IPL’s rearranged group stage now runs until May 27, with the play-offs starting on May 29 and running until the final on June 3. GT, RCB and MI are all well-placed to qualify for the final stages.
“We’re keen to support the IPL and the BCCI in getting the schedule up and running, and to facilitate players’ return should they choose to go back,” an ECB spokesperson said on Tuesday.
“No Objection Certificates have been granted based on the original IPL dates, so we’ll need to review any potential extensions, particularly in relation to any clash with the final white-ball squad,” the spokesperson added. “We’ll continue to work closely with the BCCI and the IPL as the situation develops.”
Jofra Archer (Rajasthan Royals) and Jamie Overton (Chennai Super Kings) have also been named in the ODI squad, though their franchises have already been knocked out of contention for the knockout stages. RCB’s two other English players, Liam Livingstone and Phil Salt, have been dropped from the ODI squad, though Salt is included for the T20Is which starts on June 6.
There are two players in the West Indies ODI squad likely to be affected by the clash: Romario Shepherd (RCB) and Sherfane Rutherford (GT). Shamar Joseph is also involved in both the ODI squad and the IPL, though his team, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), are highly unlikely to qualify for the playoffs.
Shepherd and Rutherford were both expected to miss West Indies’ ODIs against Ireland from May 21-25, but the England series takes more importance, with the teams ranked eighth and ninth and battling to seal automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup. CWI has been contacted for comment.