Jos Buttler left the Rajasthan Royals camp to rejoin his national squad for their T20I series against Pakistan set to be played between May 22 and 30. Not only Jos Buttler, but many England players have left the IPL 2024 camp to represent England.
England stars including Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Reece Topley and Will Jacks have left their respective IPL franchise in the crucial playoff matches.
In a recent announcement, the England Cricket Board (ECB) asked all the selected players for the World Cup squad to return in time for the T20 series against Pakistan set to be played between May 22 and 30.
Following the announcement, England players left their respective IPL teams to feature in the team’s T20 World Cup preparation.
Jos Buttler who left the Rajasthan Royals camp feels that there shouldn’t be any international cricket that clashes with the IPL.
“I said, ‘Look, as an England captain, my main priority is to be playing for England,'” Buttler told reporters here on Tuesday.
“It’s my personal opinion that there shouldn’t be any international cricket that clashes with the IPL. I think that these games have been in the calendar for a long time. Of course, leading into a World Cup, your No. 1 priority is playing for England and performing for England. I feel like this is the best preparation,” he added.
🗣️ “In my personal opinion, there should never be any international cricket that clashes with IPL”
Jos Buttler says it really disappointing that England weren’t able to play the first T20 vs Pakistan today after leaving the IPL early to prepare for the World Cup pic.twitter.com/mP6O1iNR7W
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) May 22, 2024
Right after England players left the IPL 2024 at the crucial stage many cricket experts including Sunil Gavaskar, Irfan Pathan slammed the English players for their decision.
Meanwhile, former captain Michael Vaughan came in support of the English players after they received backlash from senior players from the cricket fraternity.
“If you are going back to represent your country, which England players have done, I think that’s fair enough. They are playing a series against Pakistan. The England players wouldn’t have gone back if it wasn’t for the Pakistan series,” Vaughan said.
