ROOT GETS GO-AHEAD FOR IPL
ENGLAND’S leading players have been told they will be able to spend at least seven weeks at this year’s Indian Premier League. The ECB are bracing themselves for more English cricketers to participate than ever before. Test captain Joe Root is among those who will be permitted to travel to the subcontinent straight from Christchurch, where the two-match series against New Zealand concludes on April 2. However, they must return to the UK by May 17, because the home series versus Pakistan begins at Lord’s a week later. Limited-overs specialists Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan and Liam Plunkett will be available to franchises throughout the IPL, including the final on May 27. A total of 26 Englishqualified players have put themselves forward for the 11th edition of the lucrative Twenty20 tournament and the number bought at auction is expected to exceed last year’s record of eight.