IPL 2024: Jos Buttler, Will Jacks, Reece Topley return home to prepare for T20 World Cup, other England players to leave soon

Rajasthan Royals, on Monday (May 13), confirmed that their star opener Jos Buttler has returned home to begin preparations for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

The departure was very much on the card after the ECB made it clear that the English players will have to return home before the IPL playoffs for the home series against Pakistan. Before defending their T20 World Cup title, England will be preparing for the tournament with a four-match series against Pakistan, starting on May 22.

The playoffs and the final for IPL 2024 will be taking place from May 21 until May 26, clashing directly with the series against Pakistan.

"You can't just call people back for no reasons: there are protections," England men's managing director Rob Key had said last month.

""Without injury or England commitments, we couldn't say to Phil Salt, for example, come back and have a rest for the next 15 days. But there is a window just before an England series when you can bring players back for England duty or injury.

"I asked him (Jos Buttler) very early on in the piece and said, 'Look, as England captain, you're obviously going to have this series against Pakistan. How do you see it?' And straightaway, he said, 'No, no, I want to come back and start getting ready for the World Cup in that series that's just before it'," he had added.

As expected, Jos Buttler has left India for England to prepare for the upcoming assignments. Rajasthan Royals delivered the update on Monday by posting a video on their social media accounts. The Royals opener could be seen leaving the team hotel in the video. Posting the clip, the Royals wrote: "We’ll miss you, Jos bhai!"

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The England captain was the second English player to leave IPL 2024 on Monday. Earlier in the day, Liam Livingstone's departure was also confirmed. With Punjab Kings knocked out of the tournament, Livingstone decided to leave India ahead of schedule in a bid to get his knee "sorted" before the World Cup.

Later, RCB also took to Instagram to announce that Will Jacks and Reece Topley have left for the UK. The other England players are also expected to leave India soon. According to ESPNcricinfo, the likes of Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, and Phil Salt will begin to return home in the next few days and are expected back in the country this weekend.

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Jos Buttler in IPL 2024:

Missing Jos Buttler will be a huge blow for the Royals as they look to qualify for the playoffs and win the title for the first time since 2008. While the Royals started the tournament in a stunning fashion by winning eight of their first nine games, their form has taken a dip in recent times.

They have lost their last three games and would be looking to get back to winning ways in order to seal their place in the playoffs. They are currently at the second spot in the table with 18 points and look set to qualify.

However, they would have definitely loved to have someone like Buttler in their camp for the upcoming big games. While Buttler has struggled for consistency this season, he showed his class by scoring two match-winning centuries. The England star has finished his campaign in IPL 2024 with 359 runs in 11 games.