Nottinghamshire and England batter Alex Hales signs IPL deal with Mumbai Indians

Hales’ contract at Trent Bridge includes the right to accept an offer from the IPL and he is set to arrive in the sub-continent in time for the final group fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.

Under the terms of the deal, Hales will miss the LV= County Championship fixture against Somerset, but if Mumbai Indians are eliminated at the conclusion of the group stages on Sunday, he will be back in time to face Yorkshire Vikings in the NatWest T20 Blast on Friday 22 May at Trent Bridge.

Should the Indians finish in the top four, IPL qualifiers and eliminators are scheduled for Tuesday 19 May, Wednesday 20 May and Friday 22 May, followed by the final on Sunday 24 May.

Hales will return to Nottinghamshire once Mumbai’s interest in the competition is at an end.

The 26-year-old, who has scored 532 first-class runs an an average of 66.5 so far this season, was approached by the Indians as a replacement for Corey Anderson.

“It’s disappointing for us to lose Alex during this period, but playing in the Tournament is an ambition for him that we understand and have been aware of for three years,” said Director of Cricket Mick Newell.

“We know there are players in our squad with prospects of playing international cricket or in the IPL, and the signing of Brendan Taylor was made to cover us for this kind of eventuality.”