Ben Stokes will leave the IPL early if need be in order to play in England's first Test of the summer against Ireland in June.
Test captain Stokes has made it clear he will be leading the team in all six matches this summer starting with Ireland, even if it means missing the knockout stages of the IPL. With the Ashes to follow, some players with IPL deals such as Harry Brook, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow may miss the Ireland clash with the ECB’s blessing.
But Stokes has already agreed a departure date with the Chennai Super Kings, who parted with £1.63 million to bring him back to the tournament after he sat out in 2022.
