There will be eight Englishmen involved when the IPL gets underway this week, on Sky Sports
The Indian Premier League celebrates it's 10th birthday and there's a fair few Englishmen invited to the party. Sky Sports' Matt Floyd previews the 2017 tournament ahead of its start on Wednesday...
In a month when the ECB hope to push ahead with plans to revolutionise the English T20 system, it's apt that the tournament which heavily influenced this change celebrates it's 10th birthday.
The Indian Premier League is a trailblazer. It's the first big domestic competition that showed how T20 cricket could be effectively commercialised, and it is still the leader of the pack.
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Sunrisers Hyderabad v Royal Challengers Bangalore
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While the new English T20 will have to have it's own identity, there are many things that it can learn from the IPL, not least the way it has been promoted and marketed over the last nine years.
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This season the big IPL story is the English invasion. Eight players will be looking to further enhance their reputations, more than ever before. In fact, each franchise has an Englishman in their squad.
How times have changed since the days of the Kevin Pietersen-ECB power struggle. I bet KP wishes he'd been born 10 years later.
In the past some English players have been picked up only to see little game time, but that could all be about to change this year.
Firstly, England's stock as a white-ball team has risen dramatically since the 2015 World Cup. The batting unit in particular is seen as one of the most exciting - if not the most - in world cricket right now.
This standing is also reflected in the astronomical fees paid for Ben Stokes and Tymal Mills. When you pay over a £1m for a player it's not to make him sit on the bench.
Big-money signing Tymal Mills chats about the IPL, his red-ball regrets and how he will spend all that money...
Kolkata have also shown a lot of faith in Chris Woakes by shelling out £500,000 on him, so it would be a surprise if he didn't feature much. However, he is joining a franchise that has traditionally relied on a battery of spinners, so there could be times when Shakib Al Hasan gets the nod ahead of him.
Having an IPL season under their belts will be a big help for Jos Buttler and Sam Billings, both of whom should see a fair amount of action. Buttler has established himself as a key finisher for Mumbai (without being anywhere near his best) and Billings' chances of playing for Delhi have increased significantly after injuries to Quinton De Kock and JP Duminy.
Jos Buttler is back with the Mumbai Indians and is looking to impress again in the IPL
That leaves Eoin Morgan, Jason Roy and Chris Jordan. These three all face significant challenges to break into their respective XIs. The England captain has been picked up by Kings XI who, despite finishing rock bottom the last two years, are not short on overseas batsmen.
Glenn Maxwell is the new skipper, so Morgan, David Miller, Shaun Marsh, Martin Guptill and Hashim Amla could be competing for just two spots. Roy has a similar problem as he has joined a Gujarat Lions side stacked with aggressive openers. How about having Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith and Roy as your options?!
Meanwhile, Jordan has moved to the defending champions, Sunrisers, who have the best seam bowling in the competition.
Chris Jordan impressed during his 2016 spell with RCB, picking up 4-11 against the Gujarat Lions
Many people seem to think that this could be the year that the superstars at RCB finally lift the trophy, and the bookies agree. I'm not 100 per cent convinced though. as Virat Kohli and KL Rahul will miss the start of the tournament (at least) through injury which will leave a significant dent in the batting.
But as usual, it's the bowling that will probably determine how far the Royal Challengers will go and it still looks a little under-powered. Big things will be expected of Mills, and one of the most fascinating questions of IPL 10 will be whether he can provide RCB with the X Factor they have been missing with the ball.
Sunrisers will be dangerous once again thanks to David Warner and their imperious bowling attack. If Yuvraj Singh fires this year, then they will be an even more formidable outfit.
Can Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner score the runs again to take his team to the title?
I also expect an improvement from Mumbai after they failed to make the play-offs for the first time since 2009. New addition Mitchell Johnson showed in the Big Bash that he's still a match winner and an even more important factor could be the return of a certain Lasith Malinga.
Despite being unfancied by the bookies, and without key men De Kock and Duminy, Delhi could prove to be dark horses this season. Last year their youthful, largely unproven squad impressed many with their fearless brand of cricket, and they've made some very exciting signings. Pat Cummins and Kagiso Rabada will certainly give the bowling attack real bite.
South Africa's Kagiso Rabada adds some firepower to the Delhi Daredevils attack
So we're all set at Sky Studios to wish the IPL a very happy 10th birthday. We've got our usual selection of legends of the game and current England players lined up as pundits, and Mark Butcher is in India ready to give us the inside scoop.
He'll be joining myself and Rob Key live from Hyderabad for a special Preview Show - watch it from 7pm on Sky Sports 2, on Tuesday - and then the tournament kicks off the following day with what should be an absolute belter of an opening match.
It's a repeat of last year's final when the Sunrisers take on RCB - the tournament's best bowling side versus the best batting, and potentially Jordan versus Mills.
I wonder if 2017 will be remembered as the year that the English finally made their mark in the IPL.
Watch the opening game of the 2017 IPL between reigning champions Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore, live on Sky Sports 2 and Mix from 3pm on Wednesday.
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