England's Jos Buttler could be playing in IPL 9: England coach Trevor Bayliss

Cape Town: England’s wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler could be allowed to play in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), national cricket team chief coach Trevor Bayliss has hinted.

The 25-year-old Lancashire batsman is presently the second choice in the Test team behind Jonny Bairstow.

With England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) keen to give their players more exposure to white ball cricket, Bayliss feels this could be a possibility.

“It’s something we’ve spoken about. If the opportunity arrives and he is not in the Test team and the IPL window is a possibility, I’d be all for it,” Bayliss, a former IPL coach for Kolkata Knight Riders, told reporters following the conclusion of the drawn second Test against South Africa.

England had been reluctant in the past to release their players for the lucrative T20 tournament as it clashes with the start of their international season.

This year’s IPL is scheduled to be played between April 8 and May 29, a time period during which England will be playing a Test series against Sri Lanka.

Buttler holds the record for England’s fastest One-Day International (ODI) century – smashing an unbeaten 116 off 52 balls against Pakistan last November.

However, he has a batting average of only 13 in the seven Tests he has played since the start of the Ashes against Australia in Cardiff last July.

PTI