IPL 2023: Full list of England players set to feature in the Indian T20 league

With the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 set to begin this Friday, fans around the world will be bracing for some much-awaited action and a cricket gala.

MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take on defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) in the campaign opener on March 31 in Ahmedabad.

There will be a lot of attention on some of the biggest names in Indian cricket, including GT captain Hardik Pandya, Dhoni, and Rohit Sharma.

Meanwhile, there are a bunch of English cricketers who are expected to be as crucial for their respective franchises in the IPL 2023. As many as 13 cricketers from England are set to participate in the IPL, including Test skipper Ben Stokes, white-ball captain Jos Buttler, pacer Jofra Archer, and young all-rounder Sam Curran.

Sam Curran could bat at No. 3

Punjab Kings (PBKS) bought Curran at £1.85million at last year's mini-auction, making the 24-year-old English cricketer the most expensive player in the history of the IPL, surpassing South Africa's Chris Morris, who was bought by Rajasthan Royals (RR) at £1.61 million in 2021.

PBKS are already in trouble as they have lost their opening batsman Jonny Bairstow to injury ahead of the 2023 season. The English batsman has not recovered fully from the freak injury he sustained while playing golf last September, and has opted out of the IPL 2023 to be in perfect shape for the Ashes.

Curran missed the IPL 2022 due to an injury and played for CSK and PBKS before that in the IPL. He is back again with PBKS, who are looking at him as one of their reliable batters and are looking to offer the English all-rounder the crucial No. 3 position in their batting line-up for the upcoming season. Curran was the Player of the Tournament at the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, where England clinched their second title, their first since 2010.

Ben Stokes will be X-factor for CSK

On the other hand, CSK took a massive call by releasing their all-rounder Dwayne ahead of the IPL 2023. But then they signed England all-rounder Stokes, who was their biggest purchase from the auction last December for £1.61million. The signing comes with the hope that the English skipper would bring back the needed balance to the CSK side and help them bounce back after a forgettable last season, where the four-time champions finished ninth in the 10-team table.

Former CSK batsman Matthew Hayden has termed Stokes to be the team's "X-Factor" this year, while also claiming that the latter still does not realise his potential in the IPL.

"Now, under a CSK regime where it's all about cricket I think that he's got a big chance to be the X factor this season," Hayden said in an interview.

Jofra Archer returns

Mumbai Indians (MI), the most successful IPL side, finished at the bottom of the table last season. While they are set to enter the coming season without their ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah, they have been compensated for the same with the return of England fast bowler Archer. MI signed Archer for a hefty price in the IPL 2021 auction knowing that he would not be available for that season.

Archer, who made his IPL debut with RR in 2018, has taken 46 wickets in 35 matches. His best season was in IPL 2020, where he bagged 20 wickets in 14 games.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) broke their bank for England batsman Harry Brook, who joined the 2016 champions for £1.31 million. Brook has been one of the most consistent performers for England and his arrival at SRH could add certain value to their middle-order. In 99 T20s, Brook has scored 2,432 runs at an average of 33.77 and strike-rate of 148.38 and has recorded a century and nine fifties.

Full list of England players in IPL 2023:

Stokes, Moeen Ali – Chennai Super Kings

Phil Salt - Delhi Capitals

Mark Wood - Lucknow Super Giants

Archer – Mumbai Indians

Curran, Liam Livingstone – Punjab Kings

Joe Root, Buttler – Rajasthan Royals

David Willey, Reece Topley – Royal Challengers Bangalore

Brook, Adil Rashid – Sunrisers Hyderabad