The 19th edition of the IPL runs from March 28 to May 31, with all 84 matches live on Sky Sports.
Only dates for the first 20 games have been released with elections in several Indian states delaying the announcement of the full calendar.
RCB to Face Sunrisers in Opening Game
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the opening game on Saturday at M Chinnaswamy Stadium (3pm start UK and Ireland time).
RCB finally landed their first IPL title last season when they defeated Punjab Kings in the final to deny their opponents a maiden trophy.
England Players in the IPL
Thirteen England players were retained, traded or signed in the auction with Titans and RCB having three each.
However, Ben Duckett then pulled out of a deal with Delhi Capitals in order to focus on retaining his England place, while Sam Curran – who had been traded from Chennai to Rajasthan – will sit out the tournament with an unspecified injury.
Gloucestershire seamer David Payne has since been signed by Sunrisers as an injury replacement for Australian Jack Edwards so, as things stand, there are 12 English players across the 10 franchises.
- Jos Buttler is retained.
- Tom Banton and Luke Wood joined him in England’s T20 World Cup squad in India and Sri Lanka earlier this year.
- RCB kept Phil Salt and Jacob Bethell, who also played at the T20 World Cup as England reached the semi-finals, with the 2025 champions purchasing last year’s Hundred MVP Jordan Cox, too.
Livingstone at Sunrisers
Liam Livingstone, who recently slammed the England regime for how he was treated after being dropped, is at Sunrisers alongside Brydon Carse and Payne.
Jofra Archer will play for Rajasthan with Jamie Overton (Chennai) and Will Jacks (Mumbai) completing the English contingent.
Buttler’s Form Under Scrutiny
Questions have been asked about Buttler’s England future and a poor IPL would add to those but this is a tournament he has excelled in, amassing over 4,000 runs in his IPL career, including seven tons.
Buttler struck 538 runs for Gujarat last term, with his fi
Watch all 84 matches from the IPL live on Sky Sports between March 28-May 31.