Skip to content

IPL 2017: We assess eight England stars at this year's tournament

England captain Jos Buttler shakes hands with Ben Stokes after winning the third one-day international against Bangladesh

For the first time since the tournament's inception, there will be a strong English contingent at the IPL.

England's schedule, with no Test match until July, and a strong focus on white-ball cricket ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy means that England's big-name players are free to head over to India and test themselves against the world's finest T20 players once more.

Live Indian Premier League

There were no shortage of takers for England's top talents and a total of eight - one at each team - will venture back to the subcontinent hoping to banish memories their a miserable winter tour...

Delhi Daredevils - Sam Billings

Sam Billings got England off to a superb start in their chase (Credit: AFP)
Image: Sam Billings will be hoping to improve his chances of a regular spot in the England XI (Credit: AFP)

Billings is back in Delhi for a second season with the Daredevils and, just as he is in the England ODI side, he will be looking to nail down a place in the starting XI. The wicketkeeper-batsman made an instant impact last year with a rapid half-century on his debut but played only four games more in the tournament, scoring just 34 in three innings. The talent is clearly there and if Billings can earn himself a regular place in the team, he will hope to do enough to give the England selectors a real headache ahead of the Champions Trophy.

Team-mates include: Zaheer Khan (c), Carlos Brathwaite, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Karun Nair, Angelo Mathews

Gujarat Lions - Jason Roy

Jason Roy had a stint with the Sydney Sixers during BBL06
Image: Jason Roy had a stint with the Sydney Sixers during BBL06

He had to wait until the second round but Roy was eventually picked up in the draft and, if the England opener shows the form he has on his recent trips to India, the Lions may have got themselves a steal at £120k. The 26-year-old joins part of an explosive batting line-up in Gujarat featuring Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch and Dwayne Bravo and, given the chance, should fit right in.

Team-mates include: Suresh Raina (c), Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, James Faulkner, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Andrew Tye

Also See:

Kings XI Punjab - Eoin Morgan

Eoin Morgan is back for a second spell with Sydney Thunder
Image: Eoin Morgan enjoyed a successful second spell with Sydney Thunder in December

After stints with RCB, KKR and the Sunrisers, England's white-ball skipper has joined his fourth IPL franchise. It will take all of his experience to help reinvigorate a Kings XI side that flopped in 2016. Glenn Maxwell has replaced Murali Vijay as captain this season and David Miller, Martin Guptill and Marcus Stoinis as well as the in-form Morgan to call upon, the Aussie all-rounder certainly has the batting power required to change their fortunes.

Team-mates include: Glenn Maxwell (c), Murali Vijay, David Miller, Hashim Amla, Marcus Stoinis, Darren Sammy, Martin Guptill

Kolkata Knight Riders - Chris Woakes

England's cricketer Chris Woakes (L) celebrates dismissing West Indies batsman Kraigg Brathwaite (R) during the One Day International match between England
Image: Chris Woakes faces the unenviable task of trying to replace Andre Russell

Replacing Andre Russell is no easy feat but that is the challenge facing Woakes at KKR. The Knight Riders shelled out £500k on him, in the hope that the England all-rounder can do just that. Woakes is not the type to be fazed by such expectations and having emerged as a key player for England in both Test and white-ball cricket in the past 12 months, he will no doubt be confident of doing the same in Kolkata.

Team-mates include: Gautam Gambhir (c), Chris Lynn, Darren Bravo, Shakib Al Hasan, Trent Boult, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Sunil Narine

Mumbai Indians - Jos Buttler

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Jos Buttler is back with the Mumbai Indians and looking to impress again in the IPL

Another player returning to the IPL is Buttler. Arguably England's most exciting and explosive white-ball batsmen, Buttler enjoyed a steady rather than spectacular campaign with the Indians in 2016, scoring 255 runs with a top score of 41 in his 14 matches. England fans will testify that there is much more to come from the Lancashire wicketkeeper but Mumbai will be hoping for an upturn in form from Buttler after a dismal run; 15 his highest score in his last nine innings.

Team-mates include: Rohit Sharma (c), Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Johnson, Kieron Pollard, Tim Southee, Jasprit Bumrah

Royal Challengers Bangalore - Tymal Mills

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Tymal Mills reflects on his big money deal with Royal Challengers Bangalore

Mills was undoubtedly the surprise package of the auction with RCB eventually winning the bidding war after agreeing to splash out an eye-watering £1.4m for the left-arm quick. However, given his performance in England's T20 series with India earlier this year, perhaps it shouldn't be such a shock that Mills attracted such interest. Blistering pace combined with a wonderfully deceptive slower ball - out of the back of the hand - make him a threat at either end of the innings. That he is now restricted to playing just T20 cricket also ensures Mills will be available throughout the tournament.

Team-mates include: Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, Samuel Badree, KL Rahul, Kedar Jadhav

Rising Pune Supergiants - Ben Stokes

ST JOHN'S, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA - MARCH 05:  Ben Stokes of England celebrates with teammates after dismissing Shai Hope of the West Indies during the 2nd On
Image: Stokes must shoulder the burden of being the most expensive foreign player in IPL history

As the most expensive foreign player in IPL history, there will be no shortage of pressure on Stokes to perform. He joins a talented Pune outfit but one that faltered badly last year, prompting a change in captaincy with Steve Smith taking over from MS Dhoni. It will be far from easy to transform this team but with Stokes keen to be in the thick of the action throughout, if the Supergiants are to have a successful reason, their £1.7m man will have a big part to play.

Team-mates include: Steve Smith (c), MS Dhoni, Faf du Plessis, Dan Christian, Adam Zampa, Ravichandran Ashwin

Sunrisers Hyderabad - Chris Jordan

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Chris Jordan picked up 4-11 against the Gujarat Lions during his spell with RCB in 2016

After 11 wickets in nine games for RCB last year, Jordan has swapped beaten finalists for defending champions in 2017. The bowling all-rounder showed what he is capable of with a career-best 4-11 against Gujarat Lions last season and, at international level, has continued to impress with his death bowling. David Warner shouldered a lot of the burden with the bat last year but with Kane Williamson, Yuvraj Singh and Shikhar Dhawan in their number and Jordan joining Mustafizur Rahman to bolster the bowling attack, the Sunrisers look in a good position to try and defend their title.

Team-mates include: David Warner (c), Kane Williamson, Shikhar Dhawan, Ben Cutting, Yuvraj Singh, Mustafizur Rahman, Moises Henriques, Ashish Nehra

Around Sky