Mark Wood to miss the business end of IPL 2023

Mark Wood and his wife, Sarah, are expecting their second child somewhere towards the end of May. He will be flying back home in May to attend the same, and is unlikely to return.

He had been a force to reckon with in the initial couple of weeks of the season. He had taken 11 wickets in four games, including a five-for on his LSG debut. 

The Super Giants might not be too perturbed by Wood's unavailability, thanks to Naveen ul Haq. He has been a revelation at this stage, conceding only 19 runs off his four overs in both his games.

The latest update means that Mark Wood is yet to play a full season of IPL, despite having made his debut over five years ago.

England are scheduled to play a one-off test against Ireland from June 1, but ECB will not be asking their players to pull out of the league for the same. Previously, ECB have usually had a deadline, for players part of the test setup, to prep for the summer season for home.

With a fairly significant overlap between players part of the England setup and the IPL, a lot of think tanks would be heaving a sigh of relief with ECB's decision. 

Although, their Test skipper, Ben Stokes, has already confirmed his availability for the Ireland. It remains to be seen if any other player voluntarily backs out to play the test.