Sussex are facing the prospect of losing Chris Jordan for the opening six weeks of the season.

Jordan has received permission from the ECB and Sussex to put his name forward for the Indian Premier League player draft which takes place in Bangalore next week.

The all-rounder has been given a base price of £104,000 and is one of only three current England players – along with Sam Billings and Jos Buttler – to enter the auction for the tournament which runs from April 9 to May 29. Kevin Pietersen is also on the list of 714 players for the draft.

If Jordan is picked up by one of the nine franchises on February 6 it will mean he is likely to miss the opening five County Championship matches of the season along with the clash with Leeds/Bradford MCCU.

Jordan would be required to return for Sussex’s opening NatWest T20 Blast game against Gloucestershire on May 20 but his availability for that match will depend on whether he is part of the England squad for the opening Test against Sri Lanka which starts on May 19.

Sussex are already facing the prospect of being without the 27-year-old for the majority of the summer if he remains part of national coach Trevor Bayliss’s plans, with England due to cram in seven Tests, ten ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals between May and September.

Jordan did not feature in the recent Test series victory over South Africa but will hope to play some part in five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals which complete the tour. The former Surrey ace is also in contention to be play at the World Twenty20 which runs from March 8 to April 3.