Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler to miss Ireland ODIs for IPL group stage

New Indian Premier League (IPL) signees Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler have been confirmed available for the group stage of the competition.

The English stars will skip their country's two-match one day international (ODI) series against Ireland in May 2017 to take part in the six-week group stage of the 10<sup>th edition of the IPL.

Stokes – who became the most expensive foreign player in the IPL after joining Rising Pune Supergiants for Rs 145m (£1.73m, $2.16m) – will return to national team duty on 14 May in preparation for their ODI series against South Africa that will serve as a warm-up for the ICC Champions Trophy that commences on 1 June.

Woakes and Buttler, who joined the Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians respectively, have also been cleared and will return to England along with Stokes on 14 May.

Should the England trio's teams make it out of the group stage, they will miss out on the knockout stage as well as a potential final, which will take place on 21 May in Hyderabad, India.

Other players who will be leaving the IPL earlier are England captain Eoin Morgan, who will only play one month of the competition as he is due to return to national team duty on 1 May for the series against Ireland.

Jason Roy and Sam Billings, who were acquired by the Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils respectively, will also be returning for the Ireland matches.

Tymal Mills, however, who signed for Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 120m (£1.43m, $1.79m), will play the duration of the tournament along with Sunrisers Hyderabad's Chris Jordan.

The IPL kicks off on 5 April.