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England's limited-overs captain Jos Buttler reckons international cricket matches should not clash with the IPL. He made the statement while defending the England and Wales Cricket Board's decision to pull England's players out of the IPL 2024 playoffs so that they can feature in the T20I series against Pakistan.
Apart from Buttler, seven England players representing various franchises have left the IPL ahead of the playoffs for national duty. Among teams that have qualified for the playoffs, Rajasthan Royals are without Buttler, Royal Challengers Bengaluru have lost the services of Will Jacks and Reece Topley, while Kolkata Knight Riders are missing in-form opener Phil Salt.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, May 21, Buttler shared his views on ECB's decision to call back England's players from the IPL ahead of the playoffs.
"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 in the calendar for a long time," Buttler was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
"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," the keeper-batter went on to add.
Sanjay Bangar, the head of cricket development at Punjab Kings, on Sunday, claimed that the ECB had earlier confirmed that all their players are going to be available. He, however, admitted that the delay in announcing the full schedule for IPL 2024 changed things.
The dates for England's T20I series against Pakistan were out in July 2023. Meanwhile, the BCCI announced the full schedule for IPL 2024 after the T20 league got underway, as they were waiting for the dates of the general elections in India to be confirmed.
How Jos Buttler fared in IPL 2024
Buttler was brilliant in the league round for Rajasthan Royals before returning to England for national duty. In 11 matches, the right-hander smashed 359 runs at an average of 39.89 and a strike rate of 140.78, with two hundreds.
The 33-year-old slammed an unbeaten 100 off 58 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Jaipur, clobbering nine fours and four sixes. He then struck a sensational 107* off 50 against Kolkata Knight Riders as RR chased down 224 off the last ball with two wickets in hand.
