Former Cricketer Aakash Chopra has said that the Rajasthan Royals will suffer massively due to the unavailability of England cricketers in the United Arabs Emirates (UAE) leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

Rajasthan Royals had four Englishmen in their side –  Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, and Liam Livingstone. Out of the four, Jofra Archer did not join the squad due to injury, and Stokes and Livingstone returned back home midway due to injury and bubble-related fatigue respectively.

With the IPL 2021 set to resume in the UAE from September, the English players are most likely to be out due to national team commitments.

Aakash Chopra, in a video shared on his Youtube channel, expressed his concerns for the Rajasthan Royals. He said:

“Buttler to miss the IPL. If Buttler and Jofra are not there, then it will be a massive problem for the Rajasthan Royals. There is a possibility that Ben Stokes might also not be available.”

Aakash Chopra also highlighted that Buttler has already stated the possibility of his exclusion from the UAE leg of IPL 2021.

“He has said that it is very difficult for him to play because the ECB has a policy that they will keep the country first and they will have to go with what Ashley Giles is asking them to do.”

Missing the IPL, not a huge financial loss for England Cricketers: Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra also said that missing the IPL is not a huge financial blow for the England cricketers.

“The English players are very heavily paid. They do not have that much problem in skipping the IPL, unlike the other nations. Because the English players are paid quite well, the Board is able to tighten the screws a little bit more. Because the financial loss does not pinch you that much, you are able to choose country over club. That’s what I feel,” he said.

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