'England Will Take Precedence' - Jos Buttler Unlikely To Feature In UAE Leg Of IPL 2021

In a major dent to the Rajasthan Royals, but one which was always foreseen, is that Jos Buttler has all but confirmed his unavailability for the second leg of the IPL 2021, which will be played in the UAE.

The 14th edition of the IPL, which was suspended in early May owing to the covid-19 outbreak amongst four franchises, is set to resume in September and will stretch till October, right before the commencement of the T20 World Cup.

However, this window of the second phase of the tournament will clash with England’s limited-overs tours to Bangladesh and Pakistan ahead of the World Cup. The Three Lions are slated to tour Bangladesh for 3 ODIs and as many T20Is and Pakistan – to return the favour of Pakistan’s upcoming trip to England – for a couple of more ODIs in the lead up to the T20 World Cup.

Jos Buttler himself is of the thought that the national duty “will take precedence ” over the cash-rich IPL tournament.

“Usually the pocket of the IPL doesn’t clash with any international games, which makes it a very easy tournament to be available for. When it clashes with international cricket, England will take precedence I’d have thought,” Jos Buttler was quoted by Cricbuzz as saying.

Buttler is the Royals’ second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2021 so far and had struck a scintillating hundred against Sunrisers Hyderabad before the season was suspended. Apart from the ‘keeper-opener, the Royals are also likely to lose the services of Jofra Archer – who didn’t play in the first leg due to injury – and Ben Stokes – who played just a solitary game before pulling out due to injury – and perhaps even Liam Livingstone if he makes it to England’s squad.

Andrew Tye and Mustafizur Rahman could also withdraw due to national duties. The Sanju Samson-led side is currently at the fifth position on the points table with 3 wins from 7 games.

Always disappointing when you miss cricket: Jos Buttler

England have an extremely packed schedule since cricket began in the pandemic era. Hence they decided to rest and rotate players. Jos Buttler, for instance, has now missed their last 5 Test matches – 3 versus India and a couple against New Zealand.

He, and other players who participated in the IPL, will return for the upcoming home white-ball matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. They will then host India for a high-intensity 5-Test series before flying to Asia for the white-ball matches.

“It’s always disappointing when you miss cricket. I was feeling in good touch and things were going well but I retain that confidence if I get another chance. At the same time, what has been helpful as a player are the open discussions you have with the coaches and captains. Those rest periods are there because it probably allows you to throw yourself into everything when you are involved.

“If it’s an endless piece of string then at some point you are going to burn out. Of course it is disappointing to miss games – you want to play everything – but I retain that confidence if I get another chance that I will be in a good place,” the 30-year-old wicket-keeper added.

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