IPL 2017: England captain Eoin Morgan to return to India following Ireland ODIs

Eoin Morgan has confirmed that he will return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) following the conclusion of England's two match ODI series against Ireland.

The limited-overs England captain was originally expected to only play a month of the competition for Kings XI Punjab before heading back home to feature against Ireland.

However, following the end of the ODIs on 7 May, the 30-year-old will be back for two IPL games on 9 May and 11 May, before returning to the England squad again.

"I was pleasantly surprised to hear I'd been picked-up in the IPL auction," Morgan said as quoted on ESPN. "I wasn't expecting to be picked up so it was good news. The perception of things was that I'd miss a lot of the IPL but in actual fact I only miss four days. I'll only miss two games out of the 14 which is not very much."

Morgan also revealed that despite other England players, such as Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler skipping the ODIs, it was always on the cards that he would feature against Ireland, and that it was a collective decision made along with team director Andrew Strauss.

"It was a collective decision to come back," Morgan added. "I think it's important for me to come back for those two [Ireland matches] because, while we might not put out a full-strength team, there are players involved who might then play in the Champions Trophy."

"It's a good opportunity for me to play with guys who are coming through."

According to ESPNcricinfo, the England Cricket Board (ECB) are also considering allowing Jason Roy and Sam Billings – who were acquired by the Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils respectively – to return to the IPL following the Ireland ODIs though no firm decision has been made yet.