Former England skipper Michael Vaughan on Thursday said that the Three Lions' players should not be allowed to skip the two Tests against New Zealand so as to play the knockouts of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

England cricketers, who play more than one-format, including Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, and Jos Buttler are likely to miss the New Zealand Test series in June, due to a clash with this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs, reported ESP Ncricinfo. Stokes, Buttler, and Archer are an integral part of both IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals and England's Test squad. The schedule of IPL is yet to be announced but the tournament is likely to begin in the second week of April.

Chris Woakes (Delhi Capitals), Jonny Bairstow (Sunrisers Hyderabad), and Sam Curran (Chennai Super Kings) could also be affected if their respective teams qualify for the play-offs. With the England-New Zealand two-match Test series scheduled for the first two weeks of June, the players might miss the longest format fixtures due to quarantine protocols, if their sides qualify for the playoffs.

As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, the IPL governing council informed the franchises about the availability of cricketers from the top countries. IPL's mini-auction is set to go ahead later today. The IPL "mini-auction" this year would witness 291 players going under the hammer as England pacer Mark Wood withdrew from the auction at the end moment. All these cricketers have been shortlisted by the eight franchises.

A total of 164 Indian players, 125 overseas players, and 3 players from associate nations are up for grabs in the mini-auction.

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