Big blow to 3 IPL franchises in playoffs contention, star players picked in squad for ODI series between England and West Indies

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 was suspended for a week after escalation on India-Pakistan border. After the ceasefire agreement, the IPL 2025 is set to resume on May 17 as per the revised schedule. Ahead of the tournament's resumption, the franchises are sweating over foreign players' availability. Apart from concerns under circumstances foreign players flew back home, national duty may be a major reason behind their unavailability. While Cricket Australia (CA) has put the ball in the players' court, the ODI series between West Indies and England may prevent a few players to confirm their availability for the playoffs. 

The final league stage game is scheduled to be played on May 27. It will be followed by Qualifier 1, Eliminator and Qualifier 2 on May 29, 30 and June respectively. IPL 2025 final will be played on June 3. During the playoffs, the three-ODI series between England and West Indies will be played as well. The dates of ODIs are - May 29, June 1 and 3.

While West Indies announced their squad before the IPL 2025 was suspended for a week, England Cricket Board (ECB) announced theirs on May 13. IPL 2025-bound players Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Will Jacks and Jamie Overton have been named in the ODI squad. While Archer's Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Jamie Overton's Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have been eliminated from playoffs race, Bethell's Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Buttler's Gujarat Titans (GT) and Jacks' Mumbai Indians (MI) are alive in the tournament. 

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On the other side, West Indies' ODI squad include GT's Sherfane Rutherford and RCB's Romario Shepherd. LSG pacer Shamar Joseph who is yet to play a game in the IPL 2025 is in the squad for England series as well. Since West Indies named their squad before the one-week suspension of the league, they are yet to clarify whether these three players will be available for the remainder of the IPL or not. 

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GT are at the top of the points table followed by RCB. They need a win each to confirm sport in playoffs. On the other hand, MI are placed fourth with seven wins from 12 games. They need to win their two remaining games or win one and depend on other games to make a place in last four.