IPL 2019: 3 English players set to take the tournament by storm

English domestic T20 cricket does not compare to the glamour of either the IPL or Big Bash. But despite that, England continue to produce excellent limited overs players; their current ODI ranking (#1) and favorites tag for the World Cup on home soil are a testament to this.

The following 11 English players have been picked up by the IPL franchises for the 2019 edition:

Sam Billings, David Willey (Chennai Super Kings), Sam Curran (Kings XI Punjab), Harry Gurney, Joe Denly (Kolkata Knight Riders), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Liam Livingstone (Rajasthan Royals), Moeen Ali (Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Jonny Bairstow (Hyderabad Sunrisers).

Here we pick out three English match-winning players who can make a difference for their teams and turn matches on their heads:

1. Jos Buttler – Rajasthan Royals

Jos Buttler

Buttler had a stellar IPL last season, especially when promoted to the opening position where he equaled an IPL record of five consecutive fifties and propelled the Royals into the final four.

Buttler's statistics were extremely impressive, and the Royals will hope he can produce a similar performance this time round. Buttler comes into the IPL in a rich vein of form, having recently scored an excellent 150 against the West Indies.

Buttler is likely to open with IPL veteran Ajinkya Rahane, and that opening pair seems to be the right combination of aggression and patience. With Steve Smith and Sanju Samson making up the middle order, Ben Stokes taking up the all-rounder's slot and Jofra Archer leading the bowling attack, Rajasthan Royals look as if they could go far this year - especially if Buttler finds the match-winning form of last season.

IPL 2018 statistics - Matches: 13. Runs: 548. Batting Average: 54.80. Strike Rate: 155.24

2. Jofra Archer – Rajasthan Royals

Jofra Archer

A teammate of the previously mentioned Jos Buttler, Barbados-born and Sussex fast bowler Jofra Archer is one of the finest T20 bowlers around. With express pace and a deadly yorker, Archer opens the bowling and comes back at the death of the innings.

A superb athlete, Archer is an excellent fielder and can also pitch in with the bat lower down in the order. His express pace is his number one quality, and he clocked the fastest ball of last year’s IPL at a staggering 152.4 kph.

Archer comes into the IPL after an excellent Big Bash performance where he picked up 18 wickets in 15 matches at an economy rate of 7.53. If he puts up a similar performance to that of his recent Big Bash exploits, he will have batsmen shaking in their boots.

IPL 2018 statistics - Matches: 10, Wickets: 15: Economy 8.36.

3. Jonny Bairstow – Sunrisers Hyderabad

England v West Indies - 1st Twenty20 International

Finally achieving his full potential in limited overs cricket in the opening position as well as with the gloves, Jonny Bairstow’s form over the last 18 months has deservedly led to an IPL contract. England’s regular ODI opener since the summer of 2017 has averaged 50.72 in the position and recently opened for England in the T20I series against West Indies, scoring 68, 12 and 37.

Bairstow is in strong form, and seems ready to make a name for himself on the global stage. He would look to fulfill his potential and use his hard-hitting style to dismantle bowling attacks in the powerplay, thus providing the team with the base to score in excess of 200.

After releasing Shikhar Dhawan, Alex Hales and Wriddhiman Saha, Hyderabad need Bairstow to step up at the top of the order and also keep wickets. Overall this seems like a shrewd piece of business by the Sunrisers; at 2.2 crores they have a high quality, match-winning player on their hands.