“Priority Is To Play For England”- Jos Buttler On The Choice To Withdraw England Players Early From The IPL

Jos Buttler, the captain of the England T20I team, believes that his choice to recall English players from the Indian Premier League (IPL) early will help them get ready for the T20 World Cup in the USA and the Caribbean next month. Buttler left his particular franchise last week, and eight other England players went home.

Sunday saw the end of the IPL league season, and on Tuesday, the elimination stages began. If they had stayed in India, Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Reece Topley, and Buttler were all supposed to participate in the playoffs.

The Punjab Kings team of Curran, Livingstone, and Bairstow went out of the race before it could go to the championship round, but teams like Ali’s Chennai Super Kings, Buttler’s Rajasthan Royals, Jacks, and Topley’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru also needed to win to stay in the competition.

However, Salt’s Kolkata Knight Riders had already secured the first position before the wicketkeeper-batter departing the training area.

“My main priority is to be playing for England”- Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler, opener for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and captain of England’s white-ball team, offered his opinions on the recent controversy surrounding the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) decision to pull players from the IPL 2024 Playoffs to focus on international commitments.

Jos Buttler was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo: “I said, ‘Look, as an England captain, my main priority is to be playing for England’. 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 on 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.” Jos Buttler added.

England will face Pakistan in the first of a four-match series on Wednesday (May 22) at Headingley in Leeds, before moving to Birmingham on Saturday (May 25) for the second match.